The Collected Works of Christopher Paw 1967-2004

About the Book

THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHRISTOPHER PAW THIS IS THE MOST COMPLETE COLLECTION OF THE WORK OF THE LATE CHROPTOPHER PAW, WRITER, 1967-2004.BORN IN ESTEVAN, SASKATCHEWAN, FROM MARITIME PARENTS, HE MOVED EAST AT A RELATIVELY YOUNG AGE, GROWING UP IN SARNIA, ONTARIO. AS A TEENAGER, HE MOVED TO MONTREAL, QUEBEC, AND FINALLY TO TORONTO, ONTARIO, IN THE EARLY 90S. HE WROTE FROM A YOUNG AGE, BUT THE BULK OF HIS EXISTING WORK WAS PRODUCED DURING HIS YEARS IN TORONTO. THIS IS THE CUMULATION OF ALL HIS YEARS OF WRITING INCLUDING PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED WORK THAT WERE RETRIEVED FROM HIS ELECTRONIC AND HARDCOPY FILES. HIS WORK IS FASHIONABLE AND URBAN, REFLECTING HIS UNIQUE STYLE AND HIS LIFESTYLE IN THE CLUBS OF MONTREAL IN THE LATE 80S, EVOLVING TO A MORE MATURE SENSIBILITY IN TORONTO THROUGHOUT THE 90S. HIS MOST SUCCESSFUL PERIOD OCCURRED IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE 90S WITH HIS FREQUENT SHORT STORIES IN GAY AND LITERARY MAGAZINES AND A ONCE WELL-KNOWN ONE-ACT PLAY, "THE LIVING BREATHING WILL". IN ADDITION TO HIS PUBLISHED WORK, CHRISTOPHER CREATED A VAST AMOUNT OF UNPUBLISHED WORK INCLUDING NOVELS, PLAYS, SHORT STORIES, POETRY AND SEVERAL UNFINISHED WORKS. THIS COLLECTION IS FOR THE ONES HE LEFT BEHIND TO READ AND REMEMBER, AND FOR ALL TO ENJOY.

About the Author

CHRISTOPHER PAW HAD BEEN WRITING CREATIVELY SINCE CHILDHOOD. BY THE TIME OF HIS DEATH AT AGE 36, HE HAD PRODUCED A REMARKABLE VOLUME OF WORK. SOME OF THIS WORK HAD ALREADY BEEN PUBLISHED, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT HAD NOT. WE HAVE TRIED TO COMPILE ALL OF HIS WORK — BOTH PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED — IN ONE PLACE. SOME OF HIS WORK WAS SAVED ELECTRONICALLY, AND SOME WAS NOT. SOME ITEMS HAD NOTES, SOME WERE STARTED AND NOT FINISHED, AND SOME HAVE A VARIETY OF VERSIONS. WE FOCUSED ON PUTTING TOGETHER WHAT IS OUR BEST GUESS AT FINAL VERSIONS WHERE WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLISHED VERSION TO RELY ON. WE'VE ALSO TRIED TO TAKE OUR BEST GUESS AT WHEN THE ITEMS WERE COMPLETED TO GIVE THE READER A SENSE OF THE FULL SPECTRUM OF HIS WORK OVER THE YEARS. JANUARY 2009 MARKS THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF CHRISTOPHER'S DEATH, AND WE HOPE THAT THIS FINAL DOCUMENT WILL SERVE AS A TESTAMENT TO THE MAN AND HIS CREATIVITY. CHRISTOPHER ALWAYS WANTED TO MAKE A MARK -- TO MOVE PEOPLE, TO PROVOKE THEM, TO MAKE THEM THINK. WE HOPE THAT THIS COLLECTION WILL MEAN THAT HIS THOUGHTS, PERSPECTIVES AND IMAGINATION WILL ENDURE IN THE YEARS AHEAD.