Tom Dawe
Quick Facts
Biography
Tom Dawe, CM ONL (born October 24, 1940) is a Canadian writer from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Born in Long Pond, Conception Bay, Newfoundland (present-day Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada), Dawe has written poetry and children's literature for many years. He is also a visual artist. His work often draws on folklore, mythology, autobiography, and Newfoundland culture, particularly the experience of growing up in a Newfoundland outport community.
Dawe was a founding member in 1973 of Breakwater Books, the province's first publishing house. He was also a co-founder of TickleAce magazine, and an editor of the folklore publication The Livyer. Dawe also taught English at Memorial University of Newfoundland. His work is the subject of Rewriting Newfoundland Mythology: The Works of Tom Dawe, by Martina Seifert.
He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011 and an Officier of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2012.
From 2010-2013 Dawe was the poet laureate of St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.