His remains were cremated, his ashes spread in Ameliasburgh, and a memorial-'Voice of the Land'-was put in place in the Grove Cemetery in Ameliasburgh to honour his life as a writer and poet: called the Canada's 'unofficial poet laureate', Al Purdy was 'a national poet in a way that you only find occasionally in the life of any culture'.
The only child of a farmer and his wife, Alfred and Eleanor Purdy, his father died when Al was three; he and his mother moved to Trenton to live with Al's grandfather. In 1940, he married Eurithe Parkhurst.
Al Purdy wrote his first poem at the age of thirteen and published his first collection of poetry, 'The Enchanted Echo', in 1944. He wrote more than 30 books of poetry and prose and inspired and encouraged many young Canadian writers and poets.
He was a student at Albert College in Belleville, Ontario, and Trenton Collegiate Institute in Trenton, Ontario, but at 17 years of age he 'dropped out' of school, choosing to ride the rails west to Vancouver.
During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. At war's end he began working at various jobs until the 1960's, when he was finally able to support himself as a writer, editor and poet.
Awards and recognition-
*Purdy received the Order of Canada (O.C.) in 1982, the Order of Ontario in 1987, and the Governor General's Award, in 1965 for his collection 'The Cariboo Horses', and again in 1986 for 'The Collected Poems of Al Purdy'. The League of Canadian Poets gave Purdy the Voice of the Land Award, a special award created by the League to honour his unique contribution to Canada.
*Purdy's collection of poems, Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets: Selected Poems, 1962–1996, was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2006, where it was championed by poet Susan Musgrave.
*On 20 May 2008, a large bronze statue of Al Purdy was unveiled in Queen's Park in downtown Toronto.
The only child of a farmer and his wife, Alfred and Eleanor Purdy, his father died when Al was three; he and his mother moved to Trenton to live with Al's grandfather. In 1940, he married Eurithe Parkhurst.
Al Purdy wrote his first poem at the age of thirteen and published his first collection of poetry, 'The Enchanted Echo', in 1944. He wrote more than 30 books of poetry and prose and inspired and encouraged many young Canadian writers and poets.
He was a student at Albert College in Belleville, Ontario, and Trenton Collegiate Institute in Trenton, Ontario, but at 17 years of age he 'dropped out' of school, choosing to ride the rails west to Vancouver.
During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. At war's end he began working at various jobs until the 1960's, when he was finally able to support himself as a writer, editor and poet.
Awards and recognition-
*Purdy received the Order of Canada (O.C.) in 1982, the Order of Ontario in 1987, and the Governor General's Award, in 1965 for his collection 'The Cariboo Horses', and again in 1986 for 'The Collected Poems of Al Purdy'. The League of Canadian Poets gave Purdy the Voice of the Land Award, a special award created by the League to honour his unique contribution to Canada.
*Purdy's collection of poems, Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets: Selected Poems, 1962–1996, was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2006, where it was championed by poet Susan Musgrave.
*On 20 May 2008, a large bronze statue of Al Purdy was unveiled in Queen's Park in downtown Toronto.
His remains were cremated, his ashes spread in Ameliasburgh, and a memorial-'Voice of the Land'-was put in place in the Grove Cemetery in Ameliasburgh to honour his life as a writer and poet: called the Canada's 'unofficial poet laureate', Al Purdy was 'a national poet in a way that you only find occasionally in the life of any culture'.
The only child of a farmer and his wife, Alfred and Eleanor Purdy, his father died when Al was three; he and his mother moved to Trenton to live with Al's grandfather. In 1940, he married Eurithe Parkhurst.
Al Purdy wrote his first poem at the age of thirteen and published his first collection of poetry, 'The Enchanted Echo', in 1944. He wrote more than 30 books of poetry and prose and inspired and encouraged many young Canadian writers and poets.
He was a student at Albert College in Belleville, Ontario, and Trenton Collegiate Institute in Trenton, Ontario, but at 17 years of age he 'dropped out' of school, choosing to ride the rails west to Vancouver.
During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. At war's end he began working at various jobs until the 1960's, when he was finally able to support himself as a writer, editor and poet.
Awards and recognition-
*Purdy received the Order of Canada (O.C.) in 1982, the Order of Ontario in 1987, and the Governor General's Award, in 1965 for his collection 'The Cariboo Horses', and again in 1986 for 'The Collected Poems of Al Purdy'. The League of Canadian Poets gave Purdy the Voice of the Land Award, a special award created by the League to honour his unique contribution to Canada.
*Purdy's collection of poems, Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets: Selected Poems, 1962–1996, was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2006, where it was championed by poet Susan Musgrave.
*On 20 May 2008, a large bronze statue of Al Purdy was unveiled in Queen's Park in downtown Toronto.
The only child of a farmer and his wife, Alfred and Eleanor Purdy, his father died when Al was three; he and his mother moved to Trenton to live with Al's grandfather. In 1940, he married Eurithe Parkhurst.
Al Purdy wrote his first poem at the age of thirteen and published his first collection of poetry, 'The Enchanted Echo', in 1944. He wrote more than 30 books of poetry and prose and inspired and encouraged many young Canadian writers and poets.
He was a student at Albert College in Belleville, Ontario, and Trenton Collegiate Institute in Trenton, Ontario, but at 17 years of age he 'dropped out' of school, choosing to ride the rails west to Vancouver.
During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. At war's end he began working at various jobs until the 1960's, when he was finally able to support himself as a writer, editor and poet.
Awards and recognition-
*Purdy received the Order of Canada (O.C.) in 1982, the Order of Ontario in 1987, and the Governor General's Award, in 1965 for his collection 'The Cariboo Horses', and again in 1986 for 'The Collected Poems of Al Purdy'. The League of Canadian Poets gave Purdy the Voice of the Land Award, a special award created by the League to honour his unique contribution to Canada.
*Purdy's collection of poems, Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets: Selected Poems, 1962–1996, was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2006, where it was championed by poet Susan Musgrave.
*On 20 May 2008, a large bronze statue of Al Purdy was unveiled in Queen's Park in downtown Toronto.
