Reaney, << RAY nee, >> James (1926-2008), was a Canadian poet and playwright. He sought to express the allegorical patterns behind the sights, sounds, and customs of rural Ontario, where he grew up. His plays combine rapidly shifting scenes, organized more by patterns of images than by plot.
Reaney won three Governor General’s Awards for poetry for The Red Heart (1949), A Suit of Nettles (1958), and Twelve Letters to a Small Town (1962). The best of his poetry was collected in Selected Shorter Poems (1975) and Selected Longer Poems (1976). Reaney founded the literary magazine Alphabet and was its editor from 1960 to 1971. He also wrote more than 20 plays, including many for children. His play Wacousta (1979) is based on an early Canadian novel by John Richardson. Reaney’s best dramatic writing is found in the three related plays Sticks and Stones (1973), St. Nicholas Hotel (1974), and Handcuffs (1975). Reaney was born on Sept. 1, 1926, near Stratford, Ontario. He died on June 11, 2008.
