Robert Kroetsch, O.C

Robert Kroetsch, O.C., was born in Heisler in central Alberta in the late 1920s and has been described as a novelist, poet, critic and creative non-fiction writer. His first work of fiction, “But We Are Exiles”, was published in 1965, while his latest book of poetry “Too Bad,” was published a little more than a year ago.

In all, his list of published works includes nine books of fiction, 14 books of poetry and seven non-fiction books. Throughout his writing career, his works were widely and critically acclaimed and his third book of fiction, “The Studhorse Man”, won him the Governor General’s Award for Fiction in 1969. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2004.

“I spent many years travelling around the world – but I never left Alberta,” said Kroetsch. “It has always been a country of my imagination. I love the stories, the landscape and the people.”

The beloved writer and teacher died June 21, 2011.