When John Craig died of a brain tumour in January 1982, he seemed on the verge of greater prominence and recognition in the evolving world of Canadian writing.

Sadly, very little has happened to alter things since the early 1980s. Today, 45 years later, the question of his significance as a Canadian writer remains underexplored; for many, in fact, it is a non-issue — perhaps, it is better to simply say that John Craig’s literary importance has very much faded from cultural consciousness.

It is now a case of ‘who cares?’ Why should any new attention be paid to such a writer? Still, in 1978, Craig, who was the author of more than 20 books in a variety of genres, had achieved a notable success with the publication of “Chappie and Me” and was working with George Luscombe of Toronto Workshop Theatre on its stage version entitled “Ain’t Lookin’”; it went on to enjoy two well-received productions before Craig quietly passed away.

As well, in 1978, he had moved back from Toronto to Peterborough, the town of his birth. His old hometown had been the subject of his delightful collection of sketches, “How Far Back Can You Get?” (1974). Renewed residence here gave John and his wife Frances closer access to John’s special summer place, a cottage on Upper Stoney Lake.  By then their four children had graduated from university.

The city of Peterborough and in particular the Stoney Lake region provided him with colourful settings for many of his now-neglected books and allowed him to pen a series of short articles for The Peterborough Examiner about his past experiences and memories. With all that in mind, I would argue that he deserves to be better remembered and, indeed, celebrated as the most prolific and creative chronicler of the Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes region, its own Stephen Leacock.  I think of John Craig as the region’s finest prose poet and its best-informed advocate.

In books of personal memory like “How Far Back Can You Get?” and........

© Peterborough Examiner