Ann Elizabeth IRELAND

ANN ELIZABETH IRELAND May 19, 1953 August 23, 2018 Ann was a natural writer from earliest childhood. Growing up with musical and artistic parents and siblings, she was also a passionate amateur musician, over the years studying classical guitar, oboe, clarinet, banjo and flute. Ann was brilliant at friendships, a great listener, curious and irreverent and pretty much unconditionally kind and real to everyone she met. After graduating from UBC in 1976, Ann joined the Toronto writing community, serving on National Council of The Writers' Union of Canada. She won the 1985 Seal First Novel Award for A Certain Mr. Takahashi, (later a movie, 'The Pianist'). She was President of Pen Canada (1998 - '99) and became a longterm writing instructor and coordinator of creative writing at The Chang School, Ryerson University (1991- the present). Together with her lifelong love and partner, the painter Tim Deverell, she lived in New York, Mexico and more recently, Berkeley CA where they enjoyed a second community of deep friendships. Always writing and editing, Ann's 5th novel, Where's Bob? was published this May by Biblioasis. Ann loved reading obits and was always curious to know how people died, so she wanted it known that her cause of death was carcinoid syndrome. A diagnosis she chose not to Google. Ann leaves her beloved son, Tom; her mother, Betty; brothers, James (Catherine) and John (Barb); lifelong pals, Sarah Sheard and Jenny Munro and a heartbroken village of friends.