Miriam Waddington

Miriam Waddington (née Dworkin; 23 December 1917 – 3 March 2004) was a Canadian poet, short story writer and translator. She was part of a Montreal literary circle that included F. R. Scott, Irving Layton and Louis Dudek.

Miriam Waddington was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she studied English at the University of Toronto (B.A. 1939) and social work at the University of Pennsylvania (M.A.). She worked for many years as a social worker in Montreal, Quebec. She later relocated to the then Toronto suburb of North York, where she worked for North York Family Services. In 1964, she joined the English department at York University. She retired in 1983.

She died in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 3 March 2004 after suffering a stroke in late February. After her death, much of her own works and personal library were donated by her sons to the archives of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. The donation was a significant and appreciated endowment. Her archival fonds is held at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa.

Miriam Waddington was awarded Borestone Mountain Awards for best poetry in 1963, 1966, and 1974. She received the J.J. Segal Award in 1972. She was the Canada Council Exchange Poet to Wales in 1980, and served as writer-in-residence at the Windsor Public Library and at the University of Ottawa.

Waddington received honorary doctorates from Lakehead University in 1975 and York University in 1985.

Her poem "Jacques Cartier in Toronto" is featured on the back of the Canadian $100 bill released in 2004.