Paul Quarrington — Living his way into dying (National Post)
December 31, 2010
Anne Marie Owens, National Post · Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010
Paul Quarrington was already dying by the time I met him, but all we talked about was how best to go about this business of living.
My job, in overseeing a series in which he would spin out his story in writing and video, was essentially to engage him in conversation, ask him questions, talk with him so much that he would forget there was a video camera trained on him, distract him from the inevitable self-consciousness that awaits anyone asked to expound on the prospect of facing the great hereafter, or the great whatever, that lay ahead.
A natural storyteller, the acclaimed Canadian musician, novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker would hold court in his Toronto kitchen, where we sat for hours at a time talking about what it means to live, while facing certain death.
Months before, Paul had received what he called “The Diagnosis”: Stage Four lung cancer. There was no Stage Five.
He approached the news in the spirit of the bon vivant, rushing headlong into a great sensory overloading of life’s experiences. He drank, he partied, he stayed up late and misbehaved.
It was a visceral, utterly human approach, and, to me, felt like such an antidote to all the usual worthy and earnest tales of people delivering their 10 great lessons or their last lectures that aim to make sense of life before leaving it.
And yet he made such sense of life along the way to living each day like it was his last. (That was a phrase that came up in the kitchen conversations and stuck — it became the headline for the first story he wrote for the National Post; it was the tagline that accompanied each of his stories and the video segments online.)
“It’s a life and death struggle I’ve got going on here,” he wrote in that first piece. “Except that, you know, I wouldn’t put any significant money on life raising the final flag.
“But having decided that life is beautiful — not a decision I laboured over, by the way, more a certainty that seemed unassailable — one year should seem as full of beauty and grace as 40.”
This is how he described it in one of the conversations: “The big secret is to … squeeze all the juice out of things before you go. So that’s what I set out to do.”
In the next kitchen conversation, that desire to keep on living his way into dying was tempered by the reality of lugging around an oxygen tank — which he did, by the way, to bars, to his publisher while he finished a book, to music studios while he was composing and recording with his band, to his favoured venue, where he was performing.
“It’s not that I want to become a more boring person, but there are certain practicalities that you kind of have to deal with. … It’s sort of like I’ve got Cinderella shoes. … You’ve got to be home at a certain hour or you’re gonna run out of air.”
Paul Quarrington kept up his Cinderella act until Jan. 21 — eight months after he received The Diagnosis. He died at home, surrounded by family and friends. He was 56.
National Post
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Videos: Paul Quarrington’s cancer diary
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The Afterword: Dave Bidini pays tribute to Paul Quarrington
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Gallery: Author and Musician Paul Quarrington
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Photo Gallery: Remembering Paul Quarrington
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Video: Each Day Like It’s My Last (Complete Version)
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Canada’s writing community remembers Paul Quarrington
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Dave Bidini announces the Paul Quarrington Memorial Award for Best North American Sports Books of the Year
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A farewell tribute to Paul Quarrington
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Paul Quarrington remembered in essays, videos and more
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In Honour of Paul Quarrington
January 28, 2010
From the press and community:
Now Magazine:
http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/story.cfm?content=173353
http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/story.cfm?content=173372
The Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages:
http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320940&Itemid=96
The Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/753819–author-paul-quarrington-dies-at-56
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/2010/01/21/paul-quarrington-19532010/
http://www.quillandquire.com/google/article.cfm?article_id=11116
The National Post:
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/afterword/archive/2010/01/21/paul-quarrington-loses-battle-with-cancer.aspx
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2470218
The Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/remembering-paul/article1440977/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/writer-paul-quarrington-dies-of-cancer/article1438818/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/deaths/obituary-paul-quarrington/article1439922/
Canadian Press:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hZtawf03bmhuHLcRKUCRByg1EuLA
New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/sports/hockey/24slapshot.html
BBC News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8474495.stm
CBC News:
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/01/21/paul-quarrington-obit.html?ref=rss
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/ID=1392141926
The Ottawa Citizen:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/gentle+literary+lion/2478616/story.html
Lethbridge Herald:
http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/content/view/144283/120/
McLeans:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/01/21/paul-quarrington-embracing-life-and-art-to-the-end/
The Vancouver Sun:
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Author+musician+Paul+Quarrington+dead/2468326/story.html
Toronto Sun:
http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/books/2010/01/21/12555701.html
The Torontoist:
http://torontoist.com/2010/01/paul_quarrington_dies.php
Newsfix.ca:
http://www.newsfix.ca/2010/01/24/toronto-friends-and-fans-remember-paul-quarrington/
Outdoor Canada:
http://outdoorcanada.ca/blogs/field_findings/2010/01/21/goodbye-paul-quarrington/
http://outdoorcanada.ca/blogs/field_findings/2009/06/02/when-fishing-is-the-best-medicine/
World Fishing Network:
http://www.wfn.tv/blog/Patrick/402173
London Free Press:
http://www.lfpress.com/blogs/brandnewblog/home.html?x=blogs&s=blogs&s_entry_id=6313&s_blog_id=11&p=11
Eye Weekly:
http://www.eyeweekly.com/blog/torontonotes/article/81751
Book Ninja:
http://www.bookninja.com/?p=6908
Chart Attack:
http://www.chartattack.com/news/78719/ten-reasons-paul-quarrington-was-cool
Calgary Herald:
Friends and colleagues remember Paul Quarrington
The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages:
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Canadian writer and musician Paul Quarrington.
Although he began his career in the arts as a guitarist and song writer and continued to be active as a musician, Mr. Quarrington is best known for his contribution to Canada’s literary heritage. His novel Whale Music won the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction in 1989. He also wrote King Leary, the winner of the 1988 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour that was later chosen as the winner of CBC’s Canada Reads competition in 2008. Mr. Quarrington was also well known as a screen writer and won three National Magazine Awards for non-fiction articles focussed on the great Canadian pastimes of fishing and hockey.
On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Government of Canada, I extend my deepest condolences to Paul Quarrington’s family and friends.
http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320940&Itemid=96
Nino Ricci, Author
I met Paul twenty years ago, just after the publication of my first novel, and so my friendship with him has coloured literally the entirely of my life as a writer. I realize now that over those twenty years, literary events came to be divided in my mind into two types: those where Paul was present, which were to be looked forward to, and those where he wasn’t, which were to be endured. It wasn’t that Paul was always fun or jokey or even paid me that much attention as that when he was in the room I felt I had an ally. I felt I was not alone. His presence gave a kind of shape to things, a kind of meaning, that would be hard to put into words: yes, there is this farce we have to put up with, it seemed to say, but let’s make the best of it. Then after, we’ll talk.
Sarah Cooper, The Saint Agency
Over the decades I’ve known Paul and his work, the thing I’ve always loved the most is his humane sense of humour: he never laughed at, but boy did he love to laugh with — his characters, his students, his friends and family, his audiences.
Anne Collins, Editor, Random House
Paul Quarrington brought humour, grace, energy and joy to the dark business of dying in the same way he brought those qualities to his remarkable fiction. He was one of our funniest writers and surreptitiously one of our most profound. I hate the fact that he has died but I am so glad he did it in the company of the people he loved best. I am so sorry for their loss, and deeply sorry that Paul won’t be able to sing us more songs or tell us more stories, both things he loved so much to do.
Dan Hill, Singer/Songwriter
Paul was one of the most inspiring, courageous, and creative human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Everything I learned about playing guitar I learned from watching Paul slide his hands up and down the fretboard when I was 15 and he was 16. The high point of my youth was being a singer-songwriter duo with Paul, called Quarrington Hill. He was also the funniest man I’ve ever known: a character’s character.
Joe Kertes, Author/Dean of Creative and Performing Arts, Humber College:
Paul was a life force–so much so that, even when he got his terrible news, he fought against it as if it wasn’t there, until, like him and with him, we didn’t believe the illness could take him. His passing was, therefore, a blow to us all. In the end we had Paul Q. multiplied–the same Paul Q., but more so. We’ll miss him.
Antanas Sileika, Author/Director, Humber School for Writers:
Paul Quarrington was many things to many people, so I knew only a few versions of him.
Paul Quarrington was a man’s man, somewhat restrained in giving praise, and uneasy in getting it. But you could always count on him- I believe the old song, “Stand by Me” summed him up pretty well.
As a poker player, he was aggressive in a friendly way and therefore fun to play against.
As a cook he redefined the meaning of “man size.” He would make a mountain of chicken wings that lay higher than eye level if you were sitting at a table with him.
As a writer he was eclectic, interested in everything, from card tricks to storm chasers, from fishing to hockey to rock and roll.
He knew how to squeeze enjoyment out of life. When we arrived in Siena late one night before a writing workshop, we were sitting out on the square under a half moon, and when I asked him what wine to order he said this: “Look around you. You’re in paradise. Order the best wine you can afford.”
At that same workshop, I was solo but he was with a girlfriend, and they took me under their wings. Along with the writer Joe Fiorito and his wife, Susan Mahoney, we bought bottles of grappa to drink in the back of a can as we drove through the Tuscan hills, singing doo-wop songs.
People wanted to be around Paul. He attracted them, whether they weer poker players, hockey players, musicians, women, or waiters in restaurants. He had vitality, life force, and his loss takes away a little of that life force from all of us who were privileged to share moments of life with him.
Glenn Davis, Writer:
Working on a TV show with Paul, despite his mastery of the teleplay, he never seems fully of the TV world (good for him). But when you think about it, despite being a giant of Canadian literature (and he is), he never seemed fully of that world either. He never adopted the drab academy tone, instead he transcended so much of what we call Canlit with equal parts hilarity, invention, and wisdom. For all his deep love of the blues and wonderful musicality and right singing voice, he never seemed to be fully at home in the music world either. The truth is that Paul was too big, too expansive, too active, too funny, too full of gifts to give for any of these worlds to contain him. It only occurred to me, now that Paulie has left us, that maybe this world, our world, wasn’t big enough to contain him either. Wherever he’s gone, I know the fish are biting.
Michael Leclair, Producer, Arc Pictures:
Paul’s literary contributions to the game of hockey are a revelation. Logan in Overtime, King Leary and Original Six: True Stories from Hockey’s Classic Era are masterful stories with unique, captivating and unforgettable characters. Thank you Paul, for your inspiring words and for so brilliantly capturing the people, beauty and ruggedness that make up our game and our country.
Roddy Doyle, Author:
A great writer, a great musician, a great, great friend, and a dreadful poker player.
“Are You Ready”, a song by Paul Quarrington, Martin Worthy, and Dan Hill
January 28, 2010
In the latest issue of Maclean’s magazine, singer-songwriter Dan Hill writes about his friend, author-musician Paul Quarrington.
In today’s online edition, macleans.ca debuts ‘Are You Ready,’ a gospel song conceived by Quarrington for the upcoming documentary film “Paul Quarrington: Life in Music.” The tune was written with his long-time musical partner Martin Worthy, and recorded in this advance-only version with Dan Hill. To hear the maclceans.ca exclusive debut of ‘Are You Ready’ click here.
The song will be one of many featured in the documentary (BookShorts/CTV Bravo, Spring 2010). Paul writes about this song and the many others he wrote with Martin Worthy, as well as his own life-long affair with music in general, in the memoir to be published by Greystone Books (May 2010) called Cigar Box Banjo. More about the book on the publisher’s website here >> D&M Greystone Books
Hockey Night in Canada Tribute to Paul Quarrington – Sat. Jan 23, 2010
January 22, 2010
A tribute to Paul Quarrington will air in the opening segment before the 7pm (ET) games on CBC Hockey Night in Canada, Saturday, January 23, 2010. It will air at approximately 7:00-7:05 pm ET – before the puck drops on the early games (it’s a floating time, as the pre-game show goes before it). The segment will include the Rheostatics song “Dope Fiends and Booze Hounds” from that bands album release ‘Whale Music.’
Tim Thompson, show writer, describes the opening as “pretty awesome, if I do say so. It’s Dope Fiends as the soundtrack, with various quotes from Paul’s hockey prose threading the piece, set to hockey footage from the two games we have on – Toronto vs Florida and Montreal vs the Rangers.” ?Host Ron MacLean will pay tribute to Paul either before or after the piece runs.
The on-air tribute was the brainchild of Thompson, who is a long-time friend Dave Bidini, inspired by Bidini’s writings on hockey, including “The Best Game You Can Name” and Dave’s writings about knowing Paul. ?Tim contacted Bidini to help out with the idea. Bidini reports “I have known Tim for many years and he plays on the Morningstars, my hockey team. He told me that he was thinking about this idea as a way of toasting Paul.” Tim reports that Ron MacLean simultaneously had the same idea, so it came together naturally.
Says Bidini “When I think of what Paul meant to so many people who loved hockey, and who like to write about the game, and how he loved the Leafs…The hockey nation can mourn as one on Saturday night, the best night. It’s overwhelming. He so f*%ing deserves this. I suggested before that Paul will be watching on high with Teeder Kennedy. I realize now that it’s gotta be little King (Clancy) Leary or no one.”
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?Quarrington Arts Society honours the work of Paul Quarrington – for more information visit www.quarringtonartsociety.ca
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