Gordon Pinsent

David Gardner (University of Toronto)
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Gordon Edward Pinsent was born July 12, 1930, in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, the son of Stephen Arthur Pinsent, a paper-maker and cobbler (who died when Gordon was nine) and Flossie, his quiet-spoken, religious mother. Although both parents were Newfoundland-born, they could trace their roots back to Devon and Kent in England. Gordon was the youngest of six children and was troubled with rickets as a child, which affected his legs until he was five. Nicknamed ‘Porky', he escaped into his imagination and the arts, sketching, playing bugle in the local Anglican Church Lads Bugle and Drum Band, and pretending to be whomsoever he admired in the movies.

He left home at fifteen to live with his sister Hazel at the Gander Air Base. Then, at 18, with his education interrupted, and the 1948

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Citation: Gardner, David. "Gordon Pinsent". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5255, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5255 Gordon Pinsent 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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