Hugh MacLennan
| Hugh MacLennan | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Hugh MacLennan March 20, 1907 Glace Bay, Nova Scotia |
| Died | November 9, 1990 (aged 83) Montreal, Quebec |
| Notable works | Barometer Rising, Two Solitudes, The Watch That Ends the Night |
| Notable awards |
Order of Canada 1967 National Order of Quebec 1985 |
John Hugh MacLennan, CC, CQ (March 20, 1907 – November 9, 1990) was a Canadian author and professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award.
MacLennan was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia on March 20, 1907. His parents were Dr. Samuel MacLennan, a colliery physician, and Katherine MacQuarrie; Hugh also had an older sister named Frances. Samuel was a stern Calvinist, while Katherine was creative, warm and dreamy, and both parents would be large influences on Hugh's character. In 1913, the family spent several months in London while Samuel took on further study to become a medical specialist. On returning to Canada, they briefly lived in Sydney, Nova Scotia before settling in Halifax. In December 1917, young Hugh experienced the Halifax Explosion, which he would later write about in his first published novel, Barometer Rising. From the ages of twelve to twenty-one, he slept in a tent in the family's backyard, even in the cold winter, possibly as an escape from his strict father. Hugh grew up believing in the importance of religion; he and Frances regularly went to Sunday School, and the family attended Presbyterian church services twice each Sunday. He was also active in sports, and became especially good at tennis, eventually winning the Nova Scotia men's double championship in 1927.
MacLennan and his sister were pushed extremely hard by their father to spend long hours learning the Classics. While this was very difficult for Frances, who had no interest in Greek, Hugh grew to enjoy this field of study. Their father had an ambitious educational path planned for Hugh: studying the Classics at Dalhousie University, getting a Rhodes Scholarship, and then continuing his studies in England.
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