Raymond Knister
Raymond Knister was a Canadian author born in 1899 in Ruscom, Ontario. Raised on a family farm, he pursued higher education at Victoria University and later at the University of Toronto and Iowa State University. His literary career began in the 1920s while he lived in the Midwest United States, where he served as an associate editor for The Midland magazine and worked briefly as a taxi driver in Chicago. This diverse background informed his writing, leading to the creation of some of his most acclaimed short stories. Knister returned to Canada in 1926, settling in Toronto, and married Myrtle Gamble, with whom he had a daughter. He is primarily recognized for his novels, including "White Narcissus," published in 1929, and "My Star Predicament," which was released posthumously in 1934 and won a significant literary award. Despite his untimely death in a swimming accident in 1932, Knister's contributions to Canadian literature have gained increasing recognition, particularly for his realistic portrayal of Canadian life and his role in establishing modern realist writing alongside contemporaries such as Morley Callahan and Irene Baird.
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Raymond Knister
Writer
- Born: May 27, 1899
- Birthplace: Ruscom, Ontario, Canada
- Died: August 29, 1932
- Place of death: Lake St. Clair, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Raymond Knister was born in Ruscom, Ontario, Canada, in 1899. He was the son of farmers, and at a young age he worked on the family farm. He enrolled at Victoria University in 1919, but left the university because of an illness. He later attended the University of Toronto and Iowa State University. During the 1920’s, Knister lived in the midwestern United States, where he was an associate editor of The Midland magazine. In 1924, he lived in Chicago for a short time and worked as a taxi driver. He used this opportunity to gather material for two short stories, which are considered as among his best. Between 1925 and 1927, Knister wrote numerous sketches for The Star Weekly. He returned to Canada in 1926, settling in Toronto. In 1927, he married Myrtle Gamble, and they had one daughter. In 1932, he accepted an editorial position with Ryerson Press, a Canadian publishing house. However, not long after starting this job, Knister drowned while swimming in Lake St. Clair.
Knister is best known as a novelist, but he also wrote short stories and poetry, although he never published a book of his poetry during his lifetime. He began writing seriously during the early 1920’s, when he wrote a number of his best-known and innovative short stories. In 1928, he edited the first significant anthology of short stories written by Canadian writers. His first novel, White Narcissus, was published in 1929. His second novel, My Star Predicament, published posthumously in 1934, won first prize in the Graphic Publishers’ Canadian Novel contest.
Knister continues to earn praise as more of his works are discovered and literary critics have begun to recognize the influential role he played in Canadian literature. He wrote about issues and subjects that were truly Canadian with a single-minded realism. Along with fellow Canadian writers such as Morley Callahan, Irene Baird, and Robert J. C. Stead, Knister founded the modern realist style of writing in Canada.