Fonds F007 - JoAnna Dutka fonds

JoAnna Dutka was born on 1 November 1935 in Canmore, Alberta. She studied at the University of Alberta, graduating with a BA in English in 1957 and in the same year earned her ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She completed her Master of Arts at the University of Alberta in 1961. Her M.A. thesis, supervised by Prof. F.M. Salter, was titled “Dramatic Uses of Secular Songs in Medieval Plays.” She enrolled in the doctoral program of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto and graduated in 1972. Her thesis “The Use of Music in the English Mystery Plays” was supervised by Profs. John Leyerle and Andrew Hughes, of the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Faculty of Music. The thesis was published as a book in 1980, titled Music in the English Mystery Plays (Medieval Institute: Western Michigan University).

Dutka joined the English Department at Erindale College (University of Toronto Mississauga) in 1974 as Assistant Professor, achieved tenure as Associate Professor in 1978, and was designated as Professor Emeritus in 2001. During her time at UTM, she was Associate Director, PhD, Acting Director of the Graduate Department of English, and Associate Chair of English. A beloved educator, she received the prestigious OCUFA Teaching Award in 1979.

Dutka was an active member of the Records of Early English Drama (REED) research project. She attended the founding meeting of REED in February 1975, was a member of its executive board until 1995 when she became a senior advisor, edited the REED Newsletter from 1976 to 1997, and convened the first REED Colloquium at Erindale College in 1978. She had been editing the Records of Early English Drama (REED) volume on Norwich to 1540 at the time of her death. She also served on the Board of the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, Toronto Public Library. She authored two books related to the local history of her hometown of Canmore: Kathleen Daly, Canmore Workings (Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, 1987) and Sacred Heart Church: A Centennial Celebration (Parish of Sacred Heart Church, 1993).