In a small park in the city of Corner Brook, a bronze-based plaque dedicated to one of the most important literary figures in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history is mounted on a 2.5-metre-high rock.

It stands as a quiet symbol of permanence.

The monument is the work of renowned visual artist Gerry Squires. It features an image, in profile, of the author Al Pittman and displays six of Pittman’s poems.

Mr. Pittman was born in St. Leonard’s, Placentia Bay, in 1940 and spent most of his childhood in Corner Brook.

After completing high school, he attended Salem Teacher’s College and then St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

In Fredericton, Mr. Pittman met and became close friends with the poet Alden Nolan. As a part of Nowlan’s circle, heencountered and established lifelong friendships with some of the most influential poets of his generation.

He joined the English department at Memorial University’s St. John’s campus in 1973.

In that same year, he worked with Clyde Rose, Tom Dawe, Dick Buehler and Pat Byrne to found Breakwater Books, a publishing house dedicated to promoting writers from Newfoundland and Labrador. Breakwater helped establish a thriving local literary culture and remains the province’s premier literary publisher to this day.

Then in 1975, Mr. Pittman returned to Corner Brook to teach English and creative writing at Grenfell Campus and remained there for the rest of his storied career.

In the late 1980s, along with Rex Brown and George Daniels, he founded The March Hare, which hosted artists from across the country and around the world and quickly became the province’s preeminent literary festival until its final year in 2018.

 

Al Pittman in Châteauguay, Quebec, in 1968. The community of St. Leonard’s, where Pittman was born, and the neighbouring community of St. Kyran’s were resettled in the 1960s. The chalice Pittman holds in this picture is a remnant from the old stone church at St. Kyran’s. Photo courtesy of Marilee Pittman.

 

While he is primarily remembered as a poet, Mr. Pittman was a versatile writer who achieved success across multiple genres. He is the author of the highly underrated short-story collection The Boughwolfen and Other Stories. His plays, A Rope Against the Sun and West Moon, continue to be performed across the province. And two of his books for children, Down by Jim Long’s Stage and One Wonderful Fine Day for a Sculpin Named Sam, are considered classics in the genre.

Mr. Pittman published six collections of poetry, some of which are out of print. Those early books are now collector’s items and are difficult to find. But in 2015, Breakwater published Pittman’s Collected Poems. This single volume contains all six of Mr. Pittman’s books and includes previously unpublished poems as well.

In everything he wrote, Mr. Pittman’s distinctive voice is immediately recognizable. His words capture the rhythms of outport life, the struggles and joys of everyday existence and the deep connection between place and memory.

As a teacher and mentor, he inspired countless students, helping them find their own artistic voices. Through workshops, lectures and public readings, Mr. Pittman nurtured a love for literature and storytelling that continues to influence writers today.

Mr. Pittman was the writer in residence at Grenfell Campus until his death in 2001.

The numerous heartfelt stories told of Al Pittman as a friend and teacher depict an almost larger than life character whose presence looms within the province’s literary landscape.

But it is not a daunting presence. It remains warm and welcoming. It is a presence that represents a love of literature, a love of place and a love for time spent in the very best of company.