Norman Duncan was an author, journalist and educator.

Duncan was born in Brantford, Ontario

Brantford, Ontario

Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...

, a son of Augustus and Susan (Hawley) Duncan. He was educated in the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, graduating in 1895. At university, he was a friend of William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...

.

From 1897 to 1901 Duncan was on the staff of The New York Evening Post

New York Post

The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...

. After 1900, he lived mainly in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In 1902, Duncan was appointed professor of rhetoric at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington

Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, a position he held until 1906, when he became adjunct professor of English literature

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

 at the University of Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

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Duncan made several trips to Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, which he then used as a setting for some of his books, including Doctor Luke of the Labrador, a novel featuring a thinly veiled Wilfred Grenfell

Wilfred Grenfell

Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, KCMG was a medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador.He was born at Parkgate, Wirral, England, the son of Algernon Grenfell, headmaster of Mostyn House School, and Jane Georgiana Hutchison and married Anne Elizabeth Caldwell MacClanahan of Chicago, Illinois, in...

 as its protagonist. From 1907 to 1908 he was correspondent of Harper's Magazine

Harper's Magazine

Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...

in Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

, Arabia and Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

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Duncan published over 20 books, including short stories, novels, and travel journalism.

External links

• Full text of "The Soul of the Street: Correlated Stories of the New York Syrian Quarter" by Norman Duncan
• Full text of The Cruise of the Shining Light by Norman Duncan