Editing Farley Mowat

{{short description|Canadian writer and environmentalist (1921–2014)}}
{{For|the Sea Shepherd ships|RV Farley Mowat|MY Farley Mowat}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox writer
| name            = Farley Mowat
| honorific_suffix= {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|size=100%}}
| image           = Farley Mowat 1993.jpg
| caption         = Mowat in 1993
| birth_name      = Farley McGill Mowat
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1921|5|12}} 
| birth_place     = [[Belleville, Ontario]], Canada
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|2014|5|6|1921|5|12}}
| death_place     = [[Cobourg, Ontario]], Canada
| resting_place   = [[Port Hope, Ontario]]
| occupation      = Author, soldier, environmentalist, naturalist, philanthropist
| language        = English
| education       = Biology
| alma_mater      = [[University of Toronto]]
| period          = 1952–2014
| genre           = [[Memoir]], [[Young adult fiction]], [[Non-fiction]]
| subject         = [[Environmentalism]], Northern Canada
| notableworks    = ''[[Never Cry Wolf]]'', ''[[People of the Deer]]'', ''[[Lost in the Barrens]]'', ''[[The Curse of the Viking Grave]]'', ''[[The Grey Seas Under]]'', ''[[Owls in the Family]]''
| spouse        = Frances (Thornhill) Mowat, [[Claire Mowat|Claire (Wheeler) Mowat]]<ref name="CFN_2014">{{citation|url=http://canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/viewFile/1575/1591 |journal=Canadian Field-Naturalist |title=Obituary – Farley Mowat 1921–2014 |access-date=1 November 2014 |volume=128 |last=Cook |first=Francis R.}}</ref>
| wife      =
| children      = Robert Mowat, David Mowat
| relatives     = [[John Mowat (college administrator)|John Mowat]], [[John Bower Mowat]], [[John McDonald Mowat]], [[Angus McGill Mowat]], [[Oliver Mowat|Sir Oliver Mowat]]
| awards        =
| signature     =
| signature_alt =
| website       = {{URL|http://farleymowat.ca/}}
| portaldisp    =
|relations= [[Angus McGill Mowat]]
}}

'''Farley McGill Mowat''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OC}} (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and [[environmentalist]].  His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the [[Northern Canada|Canadian north]], such as ''[[People of the Deer]]'' (1952) and ''[[Never Cry Wolf]]'' (1963).<ref name=ce>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Gerald J. Rubio|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/farley-mowat|title=Farley Mowat|encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref> The latter, an account of his experiences with wolves in the [[Arctic]], was made into a [[Never Cry Wolf (film)|film of the same name]] released in 1983. For his body of work as a writer he won the annual [[Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature]] in 1970.<ref name=metcalf>[http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/Vicky-Metcalf-Award-for-Children-s-Literature.aspx "Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People"]. ''Awards''. Writers Trust of Canada (writerstrust.com). Retrieved 2015-08-20. With linked guidelines and list of winners.</ref>

Mowat's advocacy for [[Environmentalism|environmental causes]] earned him praise, but his admission, after some of his books' claims had been debunked, that he "never let the facts get in the way of the truth"<ref name="Burgess">{{cite news |last=Burgess |first=Steve |date=May 11, 1999 |url=http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/05/11/mowat/index1.html |title=Northern exposure |work=[[Salon.com]] |access-date=March 24, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060111000538/http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/05/11/mowat/index1.html |archive-date=January 11, 2006 |df=mdy }}</ref> earned harsh criticism, while his supporters noted that the literary "exaggerations… [in] his books almost single-handedly drew attention to the plight of the Inuit and serious environmental issues, bringing about substantive changes of policy in Ottawa".<ref name=ce/> Descriptions of Mowat refer to his "commitment to ideals" and "poetic descriptions and vivid images" as well as his strong antipathies, which provoke "ridicule, lampoons and, at times, evangelical condemnation".<ref name=ce/>

==Early life and education==

Mowat was born May 12, 1921, in [[Belleville, Ontario]],<ref name=gm>{{cite news|author=Sandra Martin|url= https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/acclaimed-canadian-author-farley-mowat-dead-at-92/article18511064/?page=all|title=Acclaimed Canadian author Farley Mowat dead at 92| work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=May 7, 2014|access-date =September 4, 2019}}</ref> and grew up in [[Richmond Hill, Ontario]].<ref name="death TorStar">{{cite news|last=Rinehart|first=Dianne|title=Farley Mowat, acclaimed Canadian author, dead at 92| url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/05/07/farley_mowat_acclaimed_canadian_author_dead_at_92.html|access-date=May 7, 2014|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|date=May 7, 2014}}</ref> His great-great-uncle was Ontario premier [[Oliver Mowat|Sir Oliver Mowat]],<ref name=gm/> and his father, [[Angus McGill Mowat|Angus Mowat]], was a librarian. During World War I, Angus fought in the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]]. His mother was Helen Lilian Thomson, daughter of Henry Andrew Hoffman Thomson and Georgina Phillips Farley Thomson of Trenton, Ontario. Mowat started writing, in his words "mostly verse", when his family lived in [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] from 1930 to 1933.<ref name=ce/>

In the 1930s, the Mowat family moved to [[Saskatoon, Saskatchewan]],<ref name=gm/> where as a teenager Mowat wrote about birds in a column for the ''[[Saskatoon Star-Phoenix]]''. During this time, he also wrote his own nature newsletter, ''Nature Lore''.<ref name="death TorStar" /> In the 1930s, Mowat studied [[zoology]] at the [[University of Toronto]] but never completed a degree.<ref name="CFN_2014" /> He took his first collecting expedition in the summer of 1939 to Saskatoon with fellow zoology student [[Alexander William Francis Banfield|Frank Banfield]], who collected data regarding mammals while Mowat focused on birds. They sold their collections to the [[Royal Ontario Museum]] to finance their trip.<ref name="CFN_2014" />{{RP|219}} Before the pair had enlisted for service in [[World War II]], Banfield published his field notes in the ''[[Canadian Field-Naturalist]]'', while Mowat published his when he returned from [[European theatre of World War II|serving in Europe]].

==War service==
During [[World War II]], Mowat joined the [[Canadian Army]] and was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[second lieutenant]] into the Second Battalion, [[The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment]] (affectionately known as the ''Hasty Ps'') on 19 July 1940.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Canada Gazette |volume=74 |number=21 |page=1772  |date=23 November 1940 |newspaper=The Canada Gazette}}</ref> He went overseas as a reinforcement officer for that regiment, joining the Canadian Army in the [[United Kingdom]]. On July 10, 1943, he was a [[Subaltern (military)|subaltern]] in command of a [[Platoon|rifle platoon]] and participated in the initial landings of [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Operation Husky]], the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]].<ref>''And No Birds Sang'', p. 7</ref>

Mowat served throughout the campaign as a platoon commander and moved to Italy<ref name="death TorStar" /> in September 1943, seeing further combat until December 1943. During the [[Moro River Campaign]], part of the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]], he suffered from [[Combat stress reaction|battle stress]], heightened after an incident on Christmas Day during the [[Battle of Ortona]], the "Italian Stalingrad", when he was left weeping at the feet of an unconscious friend, Lieutenant Allan (Al) Park, who had an enemy bullet in his head.<ref>''And No Birds Sang'', p. 259</ref> He then accepted a job as Intelligence Officer at battalion headquarters, later moving to Brigade Headquarters. He stayed in Italy with the [[1st Canadian Division|1st Canadian Infantry Division]] for most of the war and was eventually promoted to the rank of [[Captain (Canada)|captain]].

Mowat moved with the [[Division (military)|division]] to [[Western Front (World War II)|northwest Europe]] in early 1945. There, he worked as an intelligence agent in the Netherlands and went through enemy lines to start unofficial negotiations about food drops with [[Johannes Blaskowitz|General Blaskowitz]]. The food drops, during the final 10 days [[German Instrument of Surrender|before the surrender of Nazi Germany]], proceeded under the codenames [[Operations Manna and Chowhound|Operations Manna (Commonwealth air forces) and Chowhound (American)]], saving thousands of Dutch lives.<ref>[http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/04/27/history-april-27-1945-two-crazy-canadians-who-helped-a-starving-holland/ CBC Radio Canada International]</ref>

Mowat also formed the 1st Canadian Army Museum Collection Team,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://silverhawkauthor.com/canadian-war-trophies-book_326.html |title=Harold A. Skaarup: Canadian War Trophies |access-date=November 11, 2015 |archive-date=November 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104060939/http://silverhawkauthor.com/canadian-war-trophies-book_326.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> according to his book ''My Father's Son'', and arranged for the transport to Canada of several tons of German military equipment, including the piloted V1 rocket [[Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg]] and several armoured vehicles. <!--Believed vs. supported by  quality reference(s):  -->Some of these vehicles are on display today at [[Canadian Forces Base Borden]]'s tank museum,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-395-65029-5| title = My Fathers Son CL | work = Publishers Weekly | access-date =May 9, 2014 | date = January 4, 1993}}</ref> as well as the [[Canadian War Museum]] in [[Ottawa]].<ref>[https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/king-farley-mowat-and-the-story-of-canadas-lost-nazi-rocket Ottawa Citizen: Andrew King, November 7, 2014]</ref><ref>[https://legionmagazine.com/en/2014/09/war-museum-pays-tribute-to-farley-mowat/ Legion Magazine, September 2014]</ref>

Mowat was discharged at the end of World War II with the rank of captain. He was considered for promotion to [[Major (Canada)|major]]. However, he declined the offer as it would have required his volunteering to stay in the Army until "no longer needed", which Mowat assumed meant duty with the Canadian Army Occupation Force (CAOF) (but might also have meant the conclusion of the war with Japan).<ref>''My Father's Son'', p. 359</ref> He was entitled to the following medals as a result of his service: the [[1939–1945 Star]], the [[Italy Star]], the [[France and Germany Star]], the [[Defence Medal (United Kingdom)|Defence Medal]], the [[Canadian Volunteer Service Medal]] and the [[War Medal 1939–1945]].

== Post-war ==

In 1947, Mowat was hired as field technician for American [[naturalist]] [[Francis Harper (biologist)|Francis Harper]]'s study of the barren-ground caribou in the [[Nueltin Lake]] area—now [[Nunavut]]'s [[Kivalliq Region]],{{Sfn|Harper|1955}} resulting in the publication of Harper's book entitled ''Caribou of Keewatin.''<ref name="Harper">{{citation |title=Caribou of Keewatin |first=Francis |last=Harper |location=Kansas |institution=Museum of Natural Science via Gutenberg Press|editor-last=Hall |editor-first=E. Raymond |date=21 October 1955 |page=164 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33721/33721-h/33721-h.htm }}</ref> Two young Inuit were with them, fifteen-year-old Inuk Luke Anoteelik (Luke Anowtalik) and his sister Rita, who were the sole survivors of starvation in an Inuit village.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.portraitsofthenorth.com/portrait/lukeanowtalik.html |title=Luke Anowtalik |work=Portraits of the North |access-date=2 November 2014 |year=2002 |first=Gerald |last=Kuehl |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924080203/http://www.portraitsofthenorth.com/portrait/lukeanowtalik.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Luke Anowtalik went on to become well known for his distinctive carvings of antler and bone that are now in the permanent collection of the [[National Gallery of Canada]].<ref name="SpirtWrestlerGallery">{{citation |url=http://www.spiritwrestler.com/catalog/index.php?artists_id=386 |title=Luke Anowtalik, Inuit, Arviat, Nunavut Territory, Canada (1932–2006) |access-date=2 November 2014 |location=Vancouver, BC}}</ref><ref name="Hessel_1990">{{citation |title=Arviat Stone Sculpture: Born of the Struggle with an Uncompromising Medium |first=Ingo |last=Hessel |journal=Inuit Art Quarterly |date=Winter 1990 |pages=4–15}}</ref> Due to a [[clash of personalities]], Mowat undertook his own explorations. "Harper later extracted a promise that neither would mention the other in their respective future writing, a promise also extracted from Mowat by later field companions for their lifetimes."<ref name="CFN_2014" />

In the late 1940s, Mowat was hired by Frank Banfield—then Chief Mammalogist of the newly formed [[Canadian Wildlife Service]]—as field assistant in Banfield's ambitious multi-year investigation of the [[barren-ground caribou]],<ref name="Burnett_2002">{{cite book |title=A Passion for Wildlife: The History of the Canadian Wildlife Service |first=J. Alexander |last=Burnett |publisher=UBC Press |date=1 November 2002 |location=Vancouver, British Columbia |isbn=9780774842525 |chapter=Working with Mammals (1962–67) Building a National Wildlife Program |pages=96–128 }}</ref>
<ref name="Burnett_1999">{{citation |journal=The Canadian Field-Naturalist |volume= 113 |number=1 |date=January–March 1999 |title=A Passion for Wildlife: A History of the Canadian Wildlife Service, 1947–1997 |first=J. Alexander |last=Burnett |location=Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada |url=https://archive.org/stream/canadianfieldnat113otta/canadianfieldnat113otta_djvu.txt |page=183 }}</ref><ref name="Sandlos_2011">{{citation |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |location=Vancouver |first=John |last=Sandlos |title=Hunters at the Margin: Native People and Wildlife Conservation in the Northwest Territories |date=1 November 2011 |page=360 }}</ref> which resulted in Banfield's influential 1951 publication entitled "The Barren-ground Caribou".<ref name="Banfield_1951">{{citation |last=Banfield |first=Frank|year= 1951a |title=The barren-ground caribou |institution=Canada Department of Resources and Development |location=Ottawa, Ontario |pages=56 + vi  }}</ref> Mowat, who was part of a four-researcher team, was fired by the chief of Canadian Wildlife Service because of complaints from the local population and lack of formal approval for some activities.<ref name="CFN_2014" />

==Literary career==

After serving in World War II, Mowat attended the [[University of Toronto]].<ref name="global obit">{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=John R.|title=Canadian author Farley Mowat dies at 92|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/1316349/canadian-author-farley-mowat-dies-at-92/|access-date=May 8, 2014|newspaper=Global News|date=May 7, 2014}}</ref> Mowat's first book, ''[[People of the Deer]]'' (1952), was inspired by a field trip to the [[Canadian Arctic]] he made while studying at the University of Toronto. Mowat was outraged at the conditions endured by the [[Inuit]] living in [[Northern Canada]].  The book turned Mowat into a controversial, popular figure.<ref name=gm/>

Mowat became a McClelland and Stewart author when they published his book entitled ''The Regiment'' in 1955.<ref name="BoatFloat">{{citation|title=The Boat Who Wouldn't Float – The Happy Adventure of Farley Mowat and Jack McClelland |first=Donna |last=Thomson |institution=McMaster University}}</ref> Jack McClelland, known for his promotion of Canadian authors, became his lifelong friend as well as his publisher. Mowat's next book, the children's book ''[[Lost in the Barrens]]'' (1956), won a [[Governor General's Awards|Governor General's Award]].<ref name=ce/><ref name=CBC>{{cite news | url = http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/05/remembering-farley-mowat.html |title = Remembering Farley Mowat | work = CBC Books | date =  7 May 2014 | access-date = May 9, 2014}}</ref>

In 1963, Mowat wrote a possibly fictionalised account of his experiences in the Canadian Arctic with [[Arctic wolf|Arctic wolves]] entitled ''[[Never Cry Wolf]]'' (1963).<ref name= Burgess/>

In 1985, Mowat started a book tour of the United States to promote ''Sea of Slaughter''.  He was denied entry by customs agents at [[Toronto Pearson International Airport|Pearson International Airport]] in Toronto, which was justified by laws that allowed American customs officials to deny entry to entrants they thought were "[[Communist sympathizer]]s". Believing gun lobbyists were behind his denial, he came forward with his suspicion. The law was overturned in 1990, and Mowat wrote about his experience in ''My Discovery of America'' (1985).<ref name="GaM obit">{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Sandra|title=Scarred by war, acclaimed author Farley Mowat spent his life trying to save animals, nature and First Nations|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/scarred-by-war-acclaimed-author-farley-mowat-spent-his-life-trying-to-save-animals-nature-and-first-nations/article18548467/?page=all|access-date=May 8, 2014|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=May 7, 2014}}</ref>

Mowat became very interested in [[Dian Fossey]], the American [[ethologist]] who studied gorillas and was brutally murdered in [[Rwanda]] in 1985. His biography of her was published in 1987, in Canada under the title ''Virunga: The Passion of Dian Fossey'', and in the United States as ''[[Woman in the Mists|Woman in the Mists: The Story of Dian Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas of Africa]]''—an allusion to Fossey's own recounting of her life and research ''[[Gorillas in the Mist]]'' (1983).

Many of Mowat's works are autobiographical, such as ''[[Owls in the Family]]'' (1962, about his childhood), ''The Boat Who Wouldn't Float'' (1969, one of three books about his time living in [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]), and ''And No Birds Sang'' (1979, about his experience fighting in Italy in World War II).<ref name=ce/>

In 1965, ''[[Westviking]]'' was published, followed 30 years later by ''[[The Farfarers]]'', which suggests a people he called the Albans preceded the Norse to the High Arctic and the Labrador and Newfoundland coasts.

==Criticism==

In a 1964 book review published in ''[[Canadian Field-Naturalist]]'',<ref name="Banfield">{{cite news| author=Banfield, A.W.F. |date=1964| title=Book Review: 'Never Cry Wolf' by Farley Mowat. 1963| work=Canadian Field-Naturalist| volume= 78| pages=52–54| url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28020348  | access-date = May 9, 2014}}</ref> [[Frank Banfield]] of the [[National Museum of Canada]], a former Canadian Wildlife Service scientist, compared Mowat's 1963 bestseller to [[Little Red Riding Hood]], stating, "I hope that readers of ''Never Cry Wolf'' will realize that both stories have about the same factual content."<ref name="Banfield" /> Mowat responded to Banfield's criticisms in a letter to the editor of the ''Canadian Field-Naturalist'' and signed it "Mowat's wolf Uncle Albert".<ref name="Uncle Albert">{{cite news|date=1964|author=Uncle Albert|title= Letter to the editor| work=Canadian Field-Naturalist| volume= 78| page=205|url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28020510 | access-date = May 9, 2014}}</ref> [[L. David Mech]], a wolf expert, is cited by Warner Shedd, a former regional executive of the [[National Wildlife Federation]], as noting that no scientist, Mowat notwithstanding, has ever encountered a wolf population that primarily subsists on small prey, as claimed in Mowat's book. Mech additionally states, "...Mowat is not a scientist, and his book, although presented as truth, is fiction."<ref name="OWLS">{{cite book | author = Shedd, Warner | title = Owls Aren't Wise and Bats Aren't Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife | year = 2000 | page = [https://archive.org/details/owlsarentwisebat00warn/page/336 336] | isbn = 0-609-60529-1 | url = https://archive.org/details/owlsarentwisebat00warn/page/336 }}</ref>

''[[The New York Times Book Review]]'' published a dismissive review of ''[[People of the Deer]]'' on February 24, 1952.<ref name="eastern2">{{cite book|last=Mowat|first=Farley|title=Eastern Passage|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7710-6491-3|page=60}}</ref> ''[[Canada's History|The Beaver]]'' was quite hostile in its first review. The second review, by [[Erling Porsild|A. E. Porsild]], was equally hostile, questioning the existence of the [[Ihalmiut]].<ref>Eastern Passage, pp. 66–67</ref> Despite a few harsh reviews, however, ''People of the Deer'' was generally well received, published in the ''[[Atlantic Monthly]]'' and "showered with glowing international reviews".<ref name=uphere>Querengesser, T. (September 2009). [http://www.uphere.ca/node/442 Farley Mowat: Liar or Saint?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220124959/http://www.uphere.ca/node/442 |date=February 20, 2013 }} ''Up Here''. Retrieved on: 2012-12-27.</ref>

[[Duncan Pryde]], a [[Hudson's Bay Company]] trader who pioneered the linguistic study of [[Inuktitut|Inuit languages]], attacked Mowat's claim to have picked up the language quickly enough in two months to discuss detailed concepts such as [[shamanism]], pointing out that the language is complex and required a year or more for Europeans to master the basics. Pryde said that when Mowat visited his post at [[Baker Lake, Nunavut|Baker Lake]] in 1958, 10 years after Mowat's earlier trip, he could barely speak a single word in the Inuit language.<ref>{{cite book|author= Pryde, Duncan| title=Nunaga: Ten Years of Eskimo Life| location= New York|publisher= Walker and Co |date=1975| page= 33}}</ref>

''[[Canadian Geographic]]'' published excerpts from ''[[The Farfarers]]'' with the comment that it was "a highly speculative blend of history and archeology. In it, Mowat again draws upon Norse sagas, the chronicles of Irish monks, and accounts of Roman travellers, as well as the works of modern historians and archeologists. It is both detailed and, as with all early history, sketchy. The written record for much of the period covered is scant and the archeological record spotty. Still, such speculative writing can suggest avenues of exploration and study for future researchers. No professional archeologists are known to share Mowat's theories but that does not disturb him. A literary gadfly for much of his long career, Mowat is happy to stir up debate and challenge academics to match the visions that he champions and defends with such vigour and relish."<ref>Farley's Version, Canadian Geographic, September 1998</ref>

==Awards and honours==
*  '''1950s:'''  Mowat won two Canadian "year's best" book awards for ''[[Lost in the Barrens]]'', ([[Little, Brown]], 1956), an adventure novel set in Northern Manitoba and southwestern North West Territories<!-- source is our book article -->—namely, the [[Governor General's Award for Juvenile Fiction]] for 1956<ref name="ogwc-GG">[http://www.track0.com/ogwc/resources/awardsgovgen.html "Governor General's Literary Awards"] [table of winners, 1936–1999]. ''online guide to writing in canada'' (track0.com/ogwc). Retrieved 2015-08-20.</ref>  and the 1958 [[Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award]].<ref name="winners-CLA">[http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Book_of_the_Year_for_Children_Award&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2501 (list of winners)]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722000000/http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Book_of_the_Year_for_Children_Award&Template=%2FCM%2FContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2501 |date=July 22, 2015 }}. Book of the Year for Children Award. Canadian Library Association (cla.ca). Retrieved 2015-07-21. With linked press releases 2003 to present.</ref>  In 1952, Mowat won the [[University of Western Ontario]]'s President's Medal for best short story for "Eskimo Spring".  In 1953, ''[[People of the Deer]]'' was awarded the [[Anisfield-Wolf Book Award]] by the Anisfield–Wolf Foundation.  In 1956, Mowat won the [[1956 Governor General's Awards|Governor General's Award]].  And in 1957, the Book of the Year Award, Canadian Association of Children's Librarians, for ''Lost in the Barrens''.<ref name=argot>{{cite web
 |work        = Famous Canadians
 |url         = http://www.r-go.ca/Farley_Mowat.htm
 |title       = Farley Mowat: nature lover
 |publisher   = Argot Language Centre (r-go.ca)
 |access-date  = May 9, 2014
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121117180514/http://www.r-go.ca/Farley_Mowat.htm
 |archive-date = November 17, 2012
 |df          = mdy
}}</ref>  Also, in 1958, Mowat won the Canadian Women's Clubs Award for children's book ''The Dog Who Wouldn't Be'' and the Hans Christian Andersen International Award.
*  '''1960s:'''  In 1962, he won the Boys' Clubs of America Junior Book Award for ''Owls in the Family''.  In 1963, he won the National Association of Independent Schools Award.  In 1965, he made the Hans Christian Andersen Honours List, for juvenile books.<ref name = argot/>
*  '''1970s:'''  In 1970, ''The Boat Who Wouldn't Float'' won the [[Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour]] and in 1972, it made the L'Etoile de la Mer Honours List.<ref name = argot/>  Mowat also won the Vicky Metcalf Award, 1970;<ref name = argot/> [[Mark Twain Award]], 1971;<ref name = argot/> and the Curran Award, 1977, for "contributions to understanding wolves".<ref name = argot/>
*  '''1980s:'''  He was given the Knight of Mark Twain distinction in 1980.<ref name = argot/>  In 1985, he received the Author's Award, Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters for ''Sea of Slaughter''. In 1988, ''Virunga'' was designated Book of the Year, Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters, and Mowat was named Author of the Year by the Canadian Booksellers Association.  In 1989, he won the [[Gemini Award]] for best documentary script, for ''The New North.''
*  '''1990s:'''  In 1991, the [[Council of Canadians]] presented him with the Back the Nation Award.<ref name = argot/>  
*  '''2000s:'''  In 2002, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship RV Farley Mowat (formerly M/Y Sea Shepherd III / M/Y Ocean Warrior) was named in his honour. Mowat frequently visited it to assist its mission and provided financial support to the group. In 2005, Mowat received the first and only Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[National Outdoor Book Award]].<ref>[http://www.noba-web.org/books05.htm NOBA 2005 winners]</ref>  On June 8, 2010, it was announced that Mowat would receive a star on [[Canada's Walk of Fame]].<ref name=CBC /><ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/news/2010-inductees-the-canada-honours-announced | title =2010 Inductees for The Canada Honours Announced | publisher =Canada's Walk of Fame | access-date =June 9, 2010 | date =June 8, 2010 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100626123340/http://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/news/2010-inductees-the-canada-honours-announced | archive-date =June 26, 2010 | df =mdy-all }}</ref>
*  '''2010s:'''  In 2014, only weeks after his death, a life-sized sculpture of Farley Mowat, commissioned by Toronto businessman Ron Rhodes and executed by the Canadian artist George Bartholomew Boileau, was unveiled at the University of Saskatchewan, located in Saskatoon, where Farley spent many of his formative years.  His wife Claire was in attendance.  Mowat had seen the finished clay, in the artist's studio, several months previously.

Mowat was made an [[Officer of the Order of Canada]] in 1981. He had previously been awarded both the [[Canadian Centennial Medal]] (1967) and the [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] (1977).<ref name=CBC /><ref>{{cite news|work=660 News|url=http://www.660news.com/2014/05/07/canadian-author-farley-mowat-dies-at-92/ |title=Canadian author Farley Mowat dies at 92|date=May 7, 2014 | access-date = May 9, 2014}}</ref>

As an Order of Canada recipient, he automatically qualified for the [[125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal]] (1992), the [[Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal]] (2002), and the [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]] (2012).

<div class="center">
(ribbon bar, as it would look at the date of his death, including war service medals)

[[File:CAN Order of Canada Officer ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:39-45 Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon_-_Italy_Star.png|100px]]
[[File:France and Germany Star BAR.svg|100px]]

[[File:Defence Medal BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Canadian_Volunteer_Service_Medal_BAR_2.svg|100px]]
[[File:War Medal 39-45 BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:CAN_Canadian_Centennial_Medal_ribbon.svg|100px]]

[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:CAN_125th_Anniversary_of_the_Confederation_of_Canada_Medal_ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]

</div>

'''Farley''' is also the namesake of the lovable sheepdog in the comic strip by Lynn Johnston, ''[[For Better or For Worse]]''. Johnston and Mowat were long-time friends.<ref>{{cite web | access-date=2017-01-14 | archive-date=January 16, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116164215/http://www.farleyfoundation.org/extrapages/farley_namehistory.html | df=mdy-all | url=http://www.farleyfoundation.org/extrapages/farley_namehistory.html | title=How Farley Got His Name | url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Honorary doctorates==
*  1970, [[D.Litt.]] – Doctor of Letters, [[Laurentian University]]
*  1973, [[LL.D.]] – Doctor of Laws, [[University of Lethbridge]]
*  1973, LL.D. – Doctor of Laws, [[University of Toronto]]
*  1979, LL.D. – Doctor of Laws, [[University of Prince Edward Island|University of PEI]]
*  1982, D.Litt. – Doctor of Letters, [[University of Victoria]]
*  1985, D.Litt. – Doctor of Letters, [[Lakehead University]]
*  1994, D.Litt. – Doctor of Letters, [[McMaster University]]
*  1995, LL.D. – Doctor of Laws, [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]]
*  1996, D.Litt. – Doctor of Letters, [[Cape Breton University]]

==Affiliations==

Mowat was a strong supporter of the [[Green Party of Canada]] and a close friend of the party's leader [[Elizabeth May]]. The Green Party sent a [[direct mail]] fundraising appeal in Mowat's name in June 2007, and that same year Mowat became a patron of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust by donating over {{convert|200|acre|km2}} of his land in [[Cape Breton Island]] to the Nature Trust. He was also an honorary director of the [[North American Native Plant Society]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nanps.org/index.php/contact-us/nanps-board | access-date = May 9, 2014 | title = The 2013–2014 NANPS Board of Directors | publisher = [[North American Native Plant Society]] | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001042/http://www.nanps.org/index.php/contact-us/nanps-board | archive-date = December 31, 2013 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Mowat was described as "a life-long socialist".<ref name="anti american">{{cite book|last=Hollander|first=Paul|title=Anti-Americanism: Irrational and Rational|date=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc.|isbn=9781412817349|page=xli|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZyEusEdSttgC&q=%22farley+mowat%22+socialist&pg=PR41}}</ref>

==Farley Mowat Library==

In 2012, independent Canadian publisher [[Douglas & McIntyre]] announced they had created the Farley Mowat Library series and would be re-releasing many of his most popular titles, with new designs and introductions, in print and e-book format.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.douglas-mcintyre.com/get/pdf/catalogue/DM.Spring12.Web.pdf| last= McIntyre| first= Scott| title= The World of Farley Mowat| work= Spring 2012| page= 8| access-date= May 8, 2014| archive-date= May 11, 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140511081811/http://www.douglas-mcintyre.com/get/pdf/catalogue/DM.Spring12.Web.pdf| url-status= dead}}</ref>

Mowat's archives are held at the [[William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections]] at [[McMaster University]], in Hamilton, Ontario.

==Later life==
[[File:Farley Mowat.jpg|thumb|right|alt=image of Mowat speaking into a microphone|Mowat in 2010]]
Mowat and his second wife [[Claire Mowat|Claire]] spent their later years together in [[Port Hope, Ontario]], and their summers on a farm on [[Cape Breton Island]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.northumberlandnews.com/news-story/4506088-port-hope-residents-recall-funny-kind-hearted-farley-mowat/ |title=Port Hope residents recall funny, kind-hearted Farley Mowat |first=Karen |last=Longwell |access-date=May 9, 2014 |date=May 6, 2014 |work=Northumberland News}}</ref> They attended a local Anglican church in Port Hope about monthly, Claire emphasizing that Mowat was more spiritual than religious, and Mowat stating that he probably believed in God the same way his dog did, and that such ceremonies were important in tying people to each other and the world.<ref>{{cite web|last=Todd |first=Douglas |url=http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2014/05/07/farley-mowat-i-believe-in-god-the-way-my-dog-does/ |title=Farley Mowat: "I believe in God the way my dog does" &#124; Vancouver Sun |publisher=Blogs.vancouversun.com |access-date=2015-08-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906205849/http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2014/05/07/farley-mowat-i-believe-in-god-the-way-my-dog-does/ |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |df=mdy }}</ref>

Mowat is considered a saint by the God's Gardeners, a fictional religious sect that is the focus of [[Margaret Atwood]]'s 2009 novel ''[[The Year of the Flood]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saints |url=http://theyearoftheflood.weebly.com//post/2010/11/saints.html |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=The Year of The Flood |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Atwood, Margaret |title=The year of the flood |date=2009 |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/290470097 |publisher=Random House Audio/Listening Library |isbn=978-0-7393-8397-1 |oclc=290470097 |access-date=2022-09-07}}</ref>

[[File:Farley Mowat grave site.jpg|thumb|Mowat's grave site]]
Mowat died on May 6, 2014, at age 92.<ref name="death TorStar" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/08/farley-mowat |title=Farley Mowat obituary |last=Parini |first=Jay |date=8 May 2014 |publisher=www.theguardian.com |access-date=9 May 2014}}</ref>  He maintained his interest in Canada's wilderness areas throughout his life and could be heard a few days before his death on the [[CBC Radio One]] program ''The Current'' speaking against the provision of [[Wi-Fi]] service in national parks.<ref name="star-dead-92">{{cite news |author=Reinhart, Dianne |title=Farley Mowat, Acclaimed Canadian author, dead at 92 |url=http://read.thestar.com/?origref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.au%2F#!/article/536a6268ec0691744900065b-farley-mowat-acclaimed-canadian-author-dead-at-92 |work= Toronto Star| date= May 8, 2014 |access-date=May 23, 2014}}</ref> He is buried at the historic [[St. Mark's Anglican Church (Port Hope, Ontario)|St. Mark's Anglican Church]] cemetery in Port Hope.<ref>{{cite web |title=Farley Mowat's love of nature recalled at private funeral service |date=2014-05-13 |website=[[CTV News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826141947/https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/farley-mowat-s-love-of-nature-recalled-at-private-funeral-service-1.1819266 |archive-date=2022-08-26 |url-status=live |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/farley-mowat-s-love-of-nature-recalled-at-private-funeral-service-1.1819266}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9964 |title=HistoricPlaces.ca |publisher=HistoricPlaces.ca |access-date=2015-08-24}}</ref>

==Works==

*''[[People of the Deer]]'' (1952; revised 1975) {{ISBN|0-89190-818-8}}
*''[[The Regiment (book)]]'' (1955) {{ISBN|0-7710-6575-2}}
*''[[Lost in the Barrens]]'' (1956) {{ISBN|0-553-27525-9}}
**''[[Lost in the Barrens (film)]]'' (1990) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100058/
*''[[The Dog Who Wouldn't Be]]'' (1957) {{ISBN|0-553-27928-9}}
*''[[Coppermine Journey]]'' (1958) {{ISBN|0-771-06690-2}} 
*''[[The Grey Seas Under]]'' (1959) {{ISBN|1-58574-240-6}}
*''[[The Desperate People]]'' (1959; revised 1999) {{ISBN|1-471-32945-3}}
*''[[Ordeal by Ice]]'' (1960) {{ISBN|0-7710-6686-4}}
*''[[Owls in the Family]]'' (1961) {{ISBN|0-440-41361-3}}
*''[[The Serpent's Coil]]'' (1961) {{ISBN|0-738-71577-8}}
*''[[The Black Joke (book)|The Black Joke]]'' (1962) {{LCCN|6313462}}
*''[[Never Cry Wolf]]'' (1963) {{LCCN|6319169}}
**''[[Never Cry Wolf (film)]]'' in 1983 {{ISBN|1-55890-281-3}}
*''[[Westviking]]'' (1965) {{LCCN|6520746}}
*''[[The Curse of the Viking Grave]]'' (1966) {{ISBN|0-553-27525-9}}
**''[[The Curse of the Viking Grave (film)]]'' (1992)  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102338/
*''[[Canada North (illustrated edition)]]'' (1967) {{ISBN|978-0316586474}}
*''[[The Polar Passion]]'' (1967) {{ISBN|978-0879053482}}
*''[[This Rock Within the Sea]] (with [[John de Visser]])'' (1968) {{LCCN|6912137}}
*''[[The Boat Who Wouldn't Float]]'' (1969) {{ISBN|0-553-27788-X}}
*''[[Sibir (book)]]'' (1970) {{ISBN|978-0771065767}}
*''[[A Whale for the Killing]]'' (1972, revised 2012) {{ISBN|978-1-77100-028-4}}
*''[[Tundra (book)]]'' (1973) {{ISBN|0-7710-6627-9}}
*''[[Wake of the Great Sealers]] (with [[David Blackwood]])'' (1973) {{LCCN|7314315}}
*''[[The Snow Walker (book)]]'' (1976, revised 2014) {{ISBN|978-1771000857}}
**''[[The Snow Walker]]'' (movie) (2003) {{ISBN|1-59241-410-9}}
*''[[Canada North Now]]'' (1976) {{ISBN|0-7710-6596-5}}
*''[[And No Birds Sang]]'' (Farley Mowat) (1979, revised 2012) {{ISBN|978-1-77100-030-7}}
*''[[The World of Farley Mowat]]'' (1980) {{ISBN|0-316-58689-7}}
*''[[Sea of Slaughter]]'' (1984) {{ISBN|0-87113-013-0}}
*''[[My Discovery of America]]'' (1985) {{ISBN|0-87113-050-5}}
*''[[Woman in the Mists|Virunga: The Passion of Dian Fossey]]'' (1987) {{ISBN|0-7710-6677-5}}
*''[[The New Founde Land]]'' (1989) {{ISBN|0-7710-6689-9}}
*''[[Rescue the Earth!]]'' (1990) {{ISBN|0-7710-6684-8}}
*''[[My Father's Son (book)]]'' (1992) {{ISBN|1-55013-430-2}}
*''[[Born Naked (book)|Born Naked]]'' (1993) {{ISBN|0-395-73528-9}}
*''Aftermath'' (1995) {{ISBN|1-57098-103-5}}
*''[[The Farfarers]]'' (1998 – reprint 2000) {{ISBN|1-883642-56-6}}
*''[[Walking on the Land]]'' (2000) {{ISBN|1-58642-024-0}}
*''[[High Latitudes (book)|High Latitudes]]'' (2002) {{ISBN|1-58642-061-5}}
*''[[No Man's River]]'' (2004) {{ISBN|0-7867-1430-1}}
*''[[Bay of Spirits]]'' (2006) {{ISBN|0-7710-6538-8}}
*''Otherwise'' (2008) {{ISBN|0-7710-6489-6}}
*''[[Eastern Passage (book)|Eastern Passage]]'' (2010) {{ISBN|978-0-7710-6491-3}}<ref>[[1950 Rivière-du-Loup B-50 nuclear weapon loss incident]]</ref>

The ''Top of the World Trilogy''
*''[[Ordeal by Ice]]'' (1960, revised 1973) {{ISBN|0-7710-6686-4}}
*''[[The Polar Passion]]'' (1967, revised 1973) {{ISBN|978-0879053482}}
*''[[Tundra (book)|Tundra]]'' (1973) {{ISBN|0-7710-6627-9}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
===Biography===
*James King, [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/329538.Farley Farley: The Life of Farley Mowat]. Accessed 29 November 2017.

===Webpages===
* [http://www.farleymowat.ca Official website]
* [http://www.douglas-mcintyre.com/author/farley-mowat Douglas & McIntyre catalog] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124225325/http://www.douglas-mcintyre.com/author/farley-mowat |date=November 24, 2015 }}  
* [http://penguinrandomhouse.ca/search?search=farley%20mowat Penguin-Random House catalog]

===Film and television===
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0223517/ ''In Search of Farley Mowat'']  (1981) – a [[National Film Board of Canada]] (|NFB) film 
* [https://www.nfb.ca/film/ten_million_books ''Ten Million Books: An Introduction to Farley Mowat''] (1981) – an NFB film  
* ''[[Never Cry Wolf (film)]]'' (1983) starring [[Charles Martin Smith]]  – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086005/ 
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100058/ ''Lost in the Barrens (miniseries)''] (1990) starring [[Nicholas Shields]] and [[Evan Adams]]. [[Adam Beach]] is briefly seen in the hunting party.
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102338/ ''The Curse of the Viking Grave (miniseries)''] (1992)  
*''[[The Snow Walker]]'' (2003) starring [[Barry Pepper]] – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337721/
* ''[[Finding Farley]]'' (2009) – an NFB film https://www.nfb.ca/film/finding_farley/  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1519307/

{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/farley-mowat Mowat] in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''
*[http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=1211&t=12&ln=Mowat Order of Canada Citation]
*[http://archives.mcmaster.ca/index.php/farley-mowat-fonds Mowat archives] at [[McMaster University]]
*{{IMDb name|id=0610246|name=Farley Mowat}}
*[http://www.salon.com/1999/05/11/mowat/ Northern Exposure] (Salon.com)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080921094735/http://www.econet.sk.ca/sk_enviro_champions/mowat.html Another page with Mowat's photo]
* [https://archive.org/details/AtlanticInsight-007-October-1979/page/n31 ''Farley Mowat, Prophet'' - Cover story, Atlantic Insight Magazine - October 1979]
* {{LCAuth|n79118087|Farley Mowat|82|ue}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mowat, Farley}}
[[Category:Farley Mowat| ]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian male novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Canadian environmentalists]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Writers from Saskatoon]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Belleville, Ontario]]
[[Category:Governor General's Award–winning children's writers]]
[[Category:People from Port Hope, Ontario]]
[[Category:Stephen Leacock Award winners]]
[[Category:Canadian socialists]]
[[Category:People denied entry to the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Mowat family|Farley]]
[[Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel from Ontario]]