Al Pittman

Al Pittman (April 11, 1940 – August 26, 2001) was a Canadian writer and teacher from Newfoundland.

Life and work

Born in St. Leonard's, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Pittman grew up in Corner Brook. He moved to Montreal in 1964 where he began writing poetry and plays, and in 1966 published his first book of poems, The Elusive Resurrection. While in Montreal he was associated with Raymond Fraser and others in editing the literary magazine Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing. From 1968 to 1970, Pittman was a student at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where he befriended fellow poet Alden Nowlan. Pittman moved to St. John's in 1972, where he associated with many of the artists, writers, and musicians active in the city at the time, including Rufus Guinchard and Gerald Squires. In 1973 he co-founded Newfoundland's first publishing house, Breakwater Books, with Pat Byrne, Dick Buehler, Tom Dawe, and Clyde Rose. Al Pittman: Collected Poems (2015)

Plays

A Rope Against the Sun (first performed in 1970, published 1974) West Moon (first performed in 1980, published 1995)

Short stories

The Boughwolfen and Other Stories (1984)

Children's literature

Down by Jim Long's Stage: Rhymes for Children and Young Fish (1976) One Wonderful Fine Day for a Sculpin Named Sam (1983) On a Wing and a Wish: Salt Water Bird Rhymes (1992)