Desmond Pacey

William Cyril Desmond Pacey (May 1, 1917 – July 4, 1975) was a pioneer of Canadian literary criticism. He was also a notable author of verse and short fiction and a long-time university administrator. He was awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal by the Royal Society of Canada in 1972.

As chair of the University of New Brunswick English Department in the 1940s, Pacey worked closely with Roy Daniels of the University of British Columbia to initiate English PhD programs at both universities, effectively breaking the academic stranglehold the University of Toronto held on higher education in Canadian universities.

Biography Early life, education, and career Pacey was born in 1917 in Dunedin, New Zealand to parents William and Mary. After his father was killed during the First World War, Pacey and his mother moved to England; in 1931, Mary married a Canadian farmer, and the family emigrated to Ontario, Canada.

Pacey began his academic career in 1940 when he accepted a post at Brandon University in Manitoba.

Pacey published important work on Frederick Philip Grove, Sir Charles G.D. Roberts, and Ethel Wilson, among others. He worked as a contributing editor for Carl Klinck's landmark Literary History of Canada.

Legacy and honors Pacey was awarded honorary degrees from the University of New Brunswick and from Mount Allison University in 1973. UNB launched its annual W.C. Desmond Pacey Memorial Lecture in 1980/81, at which time the first lecture was given by Northrop Frye. Most recently, in 2011/12, the lecture was given by Tony Penikett, two-term Premier of the Yukon.

According to Philip Kokotalio, Pacey is often "regarded as a champion of social and environmental realism in Canada." The critic Frank Davey has argued that Pacey "demanded that the Canadian writer demonstrate his freedom from colonial mimicry by attending to Canadian experience."

Selected works Academic Frederick Philip Grove. Toronto: Ryerson, 1945 Creative Writing in Canada: A Short History of English-Canadian Literature. Toronto: Ryerson, 1945 Ten Canadian Poets: A Group of Biographical and Critical Essays. Toronto: Ryerson, 1958 Ethel Wilson. New York: Twayne, 1968 Essays in Canadian Criticism, 1938–1968. Toronto: Ryerson, 1969

Creative Hippity Hobo and the Bee and Other Verses for Children. Fredericton: Brunswick, 1952 The Picnic, and Other Stories. Toronto: Ryerson, 1958