Columbus and the Fat Lady

Matt Cohen was born in Kingston, Ontario. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Toronto. He taught political philosophy at McMaster University in the late 60's.

Between 1969 and 1999, he published more than 20 books, including novels, short stories, poetry and two books for children, which won him the Toronto Arts Award. He was a two-time winner of the National Magazine Award for short fiction and a recipient of the John Glassco Translation Prize.

Matt Cohen was writer-in-residence at several Canadian universities and was a visiting professor at the University of Bologna in Italy in 1985. He taught a number of writers’ workshops and was a founding member of the Writer’s Union of Canada, where he serv

Matt Cohen passed away on December 2, 1999, from lung cancer.

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