A biography of Newfoundland-born author Ron Pollett (1900-55)

Schultz, Audrey Deena (1985) A biography of Newfoundland-born author Ron Pollett (1900-55). Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This biographical study of Newfoundland-born author Ron Pollett presents a detailed account of his life, and attempts in its final chapter to assess his literary contribution, particularly as an émigré author, to Newfoundland literature. To date, no extensive study either of Pollett's life or of his works has been undertaken. This thesis attempts to redress this oversight in the area of Newfoundland studies; and to provide, particularly through the use of information obtained from approximately 100 personal interviews and pieces of correspondence, previously undocumented and uncollected materials pertaining to Pollett's life and works. -- Chapter One focuses on Pollett's early years, from 1900 to 1916, in New Harbour, Trinity Bay, a Newfoundland outport where he learned the traditional skills and values of a fisherman-farmer. These sixteen years are presented as a time of preparation for the tasks and ideals which he was to pursue during his young adulthood. -- Chapter Two describes Pollett's experiences from 1917 to 1924 in various professions- outport schoolteacher, record-keeper, and linotype operator- as he migrated to a number of villages and towns within Newfoundland, then emigrated first to Montreal, and finally to New York. Personal and economic circumstances which prompted these changes of profession and residence are explored. -- In Chapter Three Pollett's experiences in New York from 1925 to early 1945 are described. This chapter provides a glimpse into the professional and domestic life of one of the thousands of Newfoundlanders who settled in New York during the 1920s. -- Chapter Four describes Pollett's life between 1945 and his death in 1955, and suggests the circumstances which led him, by 1946, to embark on a second career, as an author. Aspects of the writing he produced, based on his own and other Newfoundlanders' lives at home and abroad, are discussed in relation to his rapidly declining health and precarious finances. -- Chapter Five focuses mainly upon Pollett's three major works: The Ocean at My Door and Other Newfoundland Outport Stories (1947); Peter the Grate: An Outport Character Study (1952); and The Ocean at My Door (1956). This chapter addresses the following topics: the extent of Pollett's oeuvre: the kind of writing he produced; his writing, seen in the larger literary context; and finally, his achievement as a writer.

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