author
Douglas Durkin
1884–1967
Known for vivid stories of prairie life, labor conflict, and hard-won redemption, this Canadian novelist and screenwriter brought a strong sense of justice to his fiction. His work moved from Manitoba classrooms and magazines to Hollywood film credits, giving his career an unusual range.
1 Audiobook
The Heart of Cherry McBain: A Novel
by Douglas Durkin
About the author
Born in Parry Sound, Ontario, on July 9, 1884, Douglas Durkin grew up partly in Manitoba and went on to study at the University of Manitoba. He taught literature at Brandon College and the University of Manitoba before turning more fully to writing, and his early work drew on prairie settlement, social struggle, and moral conflict.
Durkin wrote novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and he also worked as a screenwriter. Sources on his life note that his fiction often reflected both a sharp concern for injustice and a continuing interest in spiritual redemption, themes that gave even his toughest stories a humane core.
Later in life, his career extended beyond Canada into the United States, including work connected with Hollywood. He died in Seattle, Washington, on June 4, 1967, leaving behind a body of work that links early Canadian prairie writing with popular storytelling in film and magazines.