Ringwood, Gwen Pharis (1910–1984)

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Ringwood, Gwen Pharis (1910–1984)

Canadian playwright. Born Aug 13, 1910, in Anatone, Washington; died of cancer, May 27, 1984; dau. of Leslie and Mary (Bowerstock) Pharis; University of Alberta, BA, 1934; attended Banff School of Fine Arts (1935) and Carolina Playmakers School at University of North Carolina; m. John Brian Ringwood.

Important influence on contemporary Canadian drama, became known as the voice of prairie regionalism; moved with family to Canada (1913), farming first near Barons (1913–17), then Magrath (1917–25), in southern Alberta; lived in Montana (1926–29); produced and wrote over 60 plays, including The Dragons of Kent (1935), Still Stands the House (1939), Dark Harvest (1945), The Rainmaker, Widgers Way, and The Collected Plays of Gwen Pharis Ringwood (1982); also wrote novel Younger Brother (1959).