R. M. Vaughan Explained

Richard Murray Vaughan (March 2, 1965 – October 2020)^[1] was a Canadian writer and artist.^[2]

Biography

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Vaughan graduated from the creative writing program at the University of New Brunswick. He was playwright-in-residence at Toronto's Buddies in Bad Times from 1994-95, and published numerous works, including poetry, fiction, stage plays and journalism for Utne Reader, Xtra! and The Globe and Mail.^[3] He was openly gay.^[4]

His books included the poetry collections a selection of dazzling scarves (1996), Ruined Stars (2004), and Troubled: A Memoir in Poems (2008), the plays Camera, Woman (2001) and The Monster Trilogy (2003), and the novels A Quilted Heart (1998) and Spells (2003). His 2015 book Bright Eyed is a memoir of his struggles with insomnia.^[5]

In October 2020, he was reported missing in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where he was working as writer in residence at the University of New Brunswick.^[6] Vaughan was found dead by Fredericton Police on October 23, 2020.^[7]

Pervatory, an unfinished novel manuscript, was published in 2023.^[8]

Works

• The InCorrupt Tables (Wild East/Salamanca Chapbooks, 1992 (reprinted 1995), poetry)
• William Forrestali's (Muted) Cornucopia (Studio 21 Halifax, 1992, art catalogue)
• Beyond Bad Times (Snowapple Press, 1993, anthology)
• Expressions: Writing About Psychiatric Survival (Expressions Press, 1993, anthology)
• Shout and Speak Out Loud: Atlantic Canadians on Child Sexual Abuse (Wild East, 1993, anthology)
• Semiotext(e) CANADAS (Semiotext(e) Publications, 1994, anthology)
• Plush (Coach House Press, 1995, anthology)
• Symbiosis: The Clinic (Symbiosis Collective, 1995, art catalogue)
• The Last Word (Insomniac Press, 1995, anthology)
• a selection of dazzling scarves (ECW Press, 1996, poetry)
• DISCovering Authors: Canadian Series (Gale Research, 1996, CD Rom)
• Carnival: A Scream In High Park Reader (Insomniac Press, 1996, anthology)
• Painted, Tainted, Sainted by Sky Gilbert (PUC Press, 1996, introduction)
• Blues and True Concussions: 6 New Poets (House of Anansi, 1996, anthology)
• To Monsieur Desmoulins... (Tortoise Shell and Black, 1997, poetry chapbook)
• Gay Love Poetry (Robinson Publishing U.K. 1997, anthology)
• The Ecstatic Moment: The Best of Libido (Dell Books, 1997, anthology)
• 96 Tears (in my jeans) (Broken Jaw Press, 1998, poetry chapbook)
• A Quilted Heart (Insomniac Press, 1998, novel)
• Contra/Dictions: Queer Male Fiction (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1998, anthology).
• Written in the Skin (Insomniac Press, 1998, anthology)
• Rhubarb-O-Rama! (Blizzard Press, 1998, anthology of plays)
• Restless Requiem: Catherine Hale's Seductive Altars (Art Centre, University of New Brunswick Press, 1998, art catalogue)
• Invisible to Predators (ECW Press, 1999, poetry)
• Camera, Woman (2001, drama)
• Spells (2003, novel)
• The Monster Trilogy (2003, drama)
• Ruined Stars (2004, poetry)
• Troubled: A Memoir in Poems (2008, poetry)
• Compared to Hitler (Tightrope Books, 2013, selected essays)
• Bright Eyed (Coach House Press, 2015, memoir)
• Book: Vaughan, R. M. . One year after . Frog Hollow Press . 2018 . 978-1-926948-62-1 . New Brunswick chapbook series #6 . Victoria, BC.
• Book: Vaughan, R. M. . Ve1xe . Frog Hollow Press . 2019 . 9781926948843 . New Brunswick Chapbook Series #11 . Victoria, BC.
• Pervatory (Coach House Press, 2023, novel, published posthumously)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Obituary of Richard Vaughan . Brenan Group Ltd . 17 April 2021.
2. Colin H. Smith, "'A psychotic assembly of Post-it notes'; R.M. Vaughan's latest exhibit challenges our need to order pictures and words". Telegraph Journal, March 25, 2000.
3. [Nathaniel G. Moore]
4. Mitchel Raphael, "Where gay goes after the mainstream". Toronto Star, May 17, 1998.
5. [Brett Josef Grubisic]
6. Rachel Cave, "N.B. writers and LGBTQ community 'very worried' about missing mentor Richard Vaughan". CBC News New Brunswick, October 14, 2020.
7. News: Missing New Brunswick writer Richard Vaughan found dead . en-US. Global News. October 24, 2020 . 2020-10-24.
8. Christopher DiRaddo, "Posthumous books by Canlit legends Marie-Claire Blais and RM Vaughan". Xtra Magazine, November 13, 2023.