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| WRITER Sid Marty is a fourth generation Albertan, a singer-songwriter, author and western poet. He was schooled in Medicine Hat, Calgary and Montreal. He and his family have resided in an old ranch headquarters in southwestern Alberta, since l981. Sid Marty's career as a writer began while still in University with the publication of poems in the Soundings anthology edited by Jack Ludwig and Andy Wainwright (l970) and poems published in Al Purdy's Storm Warning anthology (l971). This led to an invitation from John Newlove, then an editor at McClelland and Stewart (Toronto), to submit a MS of poetry. This was published in l973 and entitled Headwaters. Sid was a park warden (ranger) from l966 to l978 in Yoho , Jasper, Prince Albert and Banff national parks. He spent part of his career patrolling the mountain backcountry with saddle and pack horses. He wrote many of the poems in his first two poetry books literally in the saddle, composing them in his head while on patrol far from home. He writes some rhyming poems but mainly works with free verse. In the 70s, prompted by Jack McClelland's faith in his ability to handle prose, he wrote Men for the Mountains (l978), one of his best known works. A good portion of that book was composed by the light of candles or Coleman lanterns in remote forestry cabins late at night. His books are about family, rangers, cowboys, homesteaders, forest fires, grizzly bears, love, death, mountaineers and wildlife conservation. His poems appear in many Canadian anthologies, including the Oxford Book of Canadian Verse and in a number of school text books. His book Men for the Mountains was twice cited by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association as one of the fifty most influential books in the Canadian conservation movement. His book Leaning on the Wind (l995) was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award in Non-Fiction. Since l978, Sid Marty has been a full time free lance writer and singer/songwriter. He writes on natural history and social issues, is a frequent contributor to Canadian Geographic Magazine, and has also written radio and televison plays. |
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