Phyllis Gotlieb (1926–2009) was a lifetime resident of Toronto, born in the city on 10 May. She was raised and educated in Toronto, obtaining her Bachelor and Master of Arts at the University of Toronto in 1948 and 1950, respectively. Gotlieb had a lengthy career starting with her first published poem “Who Knows the One” in 1961; she continuously published poetry, including the collections Within the Zodiac (1964), Ordinary Moving (1969), The Works: Collected Poems (1978), and Red Blood, Black Ink, White Paper: New and Selected Poems, 1961–2001 (2002). In 1964, Gotleib published her first science fiction novel, titled Sunburst, which was eventually honored by titling Canada’s first juried prize for the Literature of Fantastic. She continued to publish science fiction, including O Master Caliban!, published in 1976, and a trilogy including A Judgment of Dragons (1980) which won the Aurora Award for the best Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel, Pentacles (1982), and The Kingdom of the Cats (1985). In 1969, Gotlieb published a novel entitled Why Should I have All the Grief?, depicting the aftermath of Auschwitz from a Canadian Jewish perspective. Gotlieb continued to publish short story collections and science fiction, including Son of the Morning (1985), Blue Apes (1995), Flesh and Gold (1998), Violent Stars (1999), and MindWorlds (2002). Gotleib eventually published a feminist science fiction novel titled Birthstones (2007), her last work in the genre. Gotleib died on 14 July 2009, survived by her three children and husband.
Sources:
Bethune, Brian. “Phyllis Gotlieb (Profile).” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 07 December 2013, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/phyllis-gotlieb-profile.
Boyd, Colin. “Phyllis Gotlieb.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 16 December 2013, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/phyllis-gotlieb.