Island author, poet dies at 78

Frank Ledwell, a renowned UPEI teacher, author, former poet laureate and a member of the Order of PEI, died overnight Thursday in Charlottetown. He was 78.

Born April 14, 1930, at St. Peter's Bay, he was the fourth of seven children to Thomas Ledwell and Anna (Gillis) Ledwell.

He married Carolyn Duffy in 1970 and is survived by his wife and children Jane (Stephen MacInnis), Patrick (Tara Costello), Emily (Josie Cox), Thomas (Isabelle Ouellet-Morin), Daniel, and Christian; also his two grandchildren, Anna Sophia Ledwell MacInnis and Youdin Padraig Ledwell Cox; and his sister Mary MacKinnon and brother Tom Ledwell (Darlene).

He is predeceased by his parents and siblings: brother Richard and his wife Claire (Griffith); sister Jean and her husband Reg MacAdam; sister Catherine, CSM; brother Bill and his wife Adeline (Peters); sister-in-law Mary Elaine (Trainor); brother-in-law John MacKinnon. Also, nephews Brent Ledwell and John Ledwell, neice Patricia Duffy.

Honours and Honorifics

• B.A. Honours in History, 1951
• High School Principal, 1955-62
• M.A., English Literature (Notre Dame University, Indiana), 1965
• Chair, Department of English, UPEI, 1970-73
• Dean of Arts, UPEI, 1979-1983
• First recipient of the Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts Outstanding Contribution to the Literary Arts on Prince Edward Island (1985)
• Prince Edward Island Heritage Award, PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, 1987
• Member of Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 1986 to 1982; executive member, 1987--92
• Professor Emeritus of the University of Prince Edward Island, 1997
• Wendell Boyle Memorial Award for Creative Writing, 2003
• Charlottetown Royalty Rotary's Mentorship Award, 2004
• Order of PEI, 2006
• Poet Laureate of PEI, 2004-2007

In his earlier career Ledwell:

• Taught from age 16 on, beginning with one year primary school (1946-7) , St. Peter's Bay
• Studied theology at St. Augustine's Seminary, Scarborough, Ontario, for 4 years and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1954. He later left the priesthood (was laicized), in 1969.
• Nine years high school (1955-64), six of these as Principal, St. Dunstan's University High School, teaching high school Literature, History, and Mathematics, adding in college-level mathematics, graphics, and descriptive geometry for engineering from 1960-64
• Thirty-one years university, four years at St. Dunstan's University (1965-1969) and 27 years at the University of Prince Edward Island (1969-1996), teaching English Literature, Composition, with specialization in Literary Criticism and especially Creative Writing
• Was known also for coaching university hockey and football (3 years) and for serving 11 years as Director of Residence in university.
• Initiated and coordinated innovative Radio English courses in college English offered by radio (1971 to 1973) and gave a share of the radio lectures in courses in poetry, short fiction, and history of literature
• After retirement, taught life writing with UPEI Seniors' College and presented many lectures to Elderhostel participants with the North Shore Institute.

Poetry and Prose

• Founded and edited the journal Katharsis, Eastern Canadian Writing
• Portraits and Gastroscopes. (Square Deal, 1972), with Reshard Gool)
• Island Portraits (special edition, 1974)
• The Dust Is Earth (Williams and Crue, 1978), with Adrien Arsenault
• The North Shore of Home (stories and poems, Nimbus, 1986; reissued Acorn Press, year?)
• Crowbush and Other Poems (Ragweed, 1990)
• Dip and Veer: Reflections on the Art of Alex Colville (poems, Acorn Press, 1996)
• Performances with the trio "Crowbush," with Allan Rankin and Roy Johnstone, years??
• Being Islanders (CD recording of selected poetry year??), with music by Roy Johnstone
• Island Sketchbook (stories, Acorn Press, 2004)
• The Taste of Water, poetry (poetry, Acorn Press, 2006)
• Island Voices (DVD, UPEI, 2006)

Selected Public Reports and Commissions

• Royal Commission on Public Sector Labour Relations (co-chair and author of report, 1994)
• A Place to Stay?: A Population Strategy for Prince Edward Island. Institute of Island Studies and PEI Government (chair of report panel, 2000)

Selected Community & Volunteer Activities

• Selected volunteer activities in the arts: Vice-President of the National Milton Acorn Festival, UPEI liaison on the Board of the Confederation Centre of the Arts, Chair of the Annual PEI Literary Awards, Fr. Adrien Arsenault Senior Arts Award committee, and executive member of the PEI Writers' Guild.
• Selected community volunteering: chairing and teaching marriage preparation courses with his wife, Carolyn from 1975 to 1996; teaching Sunday school at St. Mary's of the People church in Hunter River; coaching minor hockey and soccer teams; acting as a 4-H leader; working with political parties; serving with boards such as the Canadian Bible Society and the Direct Charge Co-op.