Revie, Linda 1962- (Linda Lee Revie)

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Revie, Linda 1962- (Linda Lee Revie)

PERSONAL:

Born May 17, 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; daughter of Ronald C. (a salesman) and Doreen E. Smitten (a secretary) Revie. Education: University of Toronto, B.A., 1987; York University, M.A., 1990; Boston College, Ph.D., 1998. Politics: New Democratic Party. Religion: "Spiritual/New Age."

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of English, Cape Breton University, P.O. Box 5300, Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 6L2, Canada.

CAREER:

Academician and freelance writer. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, part-time lecturer, 1997-2001; University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, lecturer, 1999-2005; St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, contract professor, 2005-06; Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, lecturer, 2006—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Waterloo Regional Arts Council Fiction Competition winner.

WRITINGS:

The Niagara Companion: Explorers, Artists, and Writers at the Falls, from Discovery through the Twentieth Century, Wilfrid Laurier University Press (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), 2003.

Contributor of chapters to scholarly books and anthologies, including The Grand River Table Anthology, edited by Veronica Ross, Waterloo-Wellington Canadian Authors Association (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada), 1997; Poetry in Contemporary Irish Literature, edited by Michael Kenneally, Colin Smythe (Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England), 1995; and Learning the Trade: Essays on W.B. Yeats and Contemporary Poetry, edited by Deborah Fleming, Locust Hill Press (West Cornwall, CT), 1993. Contributor to periodicals and scholarly journals, including Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, Torquere: The Journal of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Studies Association, Descant, Irish Literary Supplement, Waterloo Historical Society, Beaver, and Exile: The Literary Quarterly.

SIDELIGHTS:

Linda Revie is a Canadian academician and freelance writer. The daughter of a salesman and a secretary, Revie was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on May 17, 1962. After completing high school, she attended the University of Toronto and earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1987. Revie undertook her graduate studies first at Toronto's York University, where she completed a master of arts degree in 1990. After a respite, she continued her studies in the United States, where she was awarded a Ph.D. from Boston College in 1998. Revie began working as a part-time lecturer at Ontario's University of Waterloo in 1997, a position she held until 2001. In 1999 she accepted a full-time lecturer position at the nearby University of Guelph. In 2005 she left the province of Ontario and settled in Nova Scotia where she accepted a temporary contract position as a professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. By 2006 Revie had accepted a lecturer position at Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia. As a writer Revie has composed poetry, short stories, and scholarly articles.

In 2003 she published her first book, The Niagara Companion: Explorers, Artists, and Writers at the Falls, from Discovery through the Twentieth Century.

The book recounts the notable visitors to the Falls, ranging from artists to explorers, and their reaction to the sight of the natural wonder. In an article in At Guelph, Revie remarked to interviewer Stacey Curry Gunn: "I really enjoy rivers. The Niagara River seems to be the mighty river of them all in my mind and an icon important for the Niagara region, the history of Canada, and the United States, and any visitor coming from abroad. We tend to think of it as kind of cheesy, but it's not." As for foreign tourists to Niagara Falls, Revie thought that "they're in awe of it, and I like watching that reaction. It goes back centuries."

Christoph Irmscher, writing in Canadian Literature, commented that "there is interesting information on almost every page of The Niagara Companion, but at the end the cultural landscape Revie traverses seems more real to us than the actual one, and we still don't know why there have been, to quote Woody Woodpecker, so many ‘Niagara Fools.’" Irmscher added that "Revie's readings sometimes remain rather cursory, such as when she wonders why somebody as progressive as Margaret Fuller would envision naked Indians swinging tomahawks when she looked at the Falls." A contributor to the Midwest Book Review described The Niagara Companion as "a superbly insightful celebration" of the great landmark. The same reviewer pointed out the "diverse perspectives" Revie used to create this account. The reviewer "especially recommended" the book for anyone interested in Niagara Falls.

Linda Revie once told CA: "My writing process begins as a gift from the universe. After that it is all hard work. ‘Inspiration, then perspiration.’"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

At Guelph (University of Guelph), December 3, 2003, Stacey Curry Gunn, author interview.

Canadian Literature, autumn, 2005, Christoph Irmscher, review of The Niagara Companion: Explorers, Artists, and Writers at the Falls, from Discovery through the Twentieth Century, pp. 173-174.

Journal of Historical Geography, October, 2004, Brian S. Osborne, review of The Niagara Companion, p. 779.

Midwest Book Review, January, 2004, review of The Niagara Companion.

Reference & Research Book News, February, 2004, review of The Niagara Companion, p. 63.

University of Waterloo Gazette, September 17, 1997, author interview.