Manuscript Collection MS COLL 00049C - Kildare Dobbs Papers

Kildare Dobbs was a Canadian poet, short story and travel writer. He was born in India, raised in Ireland, and educated in Dublin, Cambridge and London.
After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II and in Tanganyika, Dobbs migrated to Canada in 1952 and worked in journalism and publishing as the managing editor of Saturday Night, and book editor of The Toronto Star Weekly. He’s contributed to most of the major magazines and newspapers in Canada as a freelancer. His autobiography, Running to Paradise (1962), won a Governor General’s Award. He has also published various collections of short stories, novellas and poetry, including The Great Fur Opera (1970). In 2000, he was awarded the Order of Ontario, and installed as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto in 2002. His memoir, Running the Rapids was published in 2004. Kildare Dobbs lived in Toronto with his wife, Linda Kooluris Dobbs, a noted portrait artist, painter and photographer. In 2013, shortly before his death at age 89 following a period of ill health, Dobbs received the Order of Canada by the Right Honourable David Johnston, at his home in Toronto. He was cremated and his remains interred in the family grave in St Mary's (Church of Ireland) churchyard in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, Ireland.