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Finding Aid

Gervais, Charles Henry, 1946-

C.H. (Marty) Gervais fonds. – [1914]-2011; predominant 1966-2010. – 9.1 m of textual records and other material. – 109 audio cassettes. – 2 video cassettes. – 1 DVD. – 4 CDs. – 579 photographs.

Charles Henry (Marty) Gervais was born in Windsor in 1946. He received a BA degree from the University of Guelph and later studied writing under Morley Callaghan at the University of Windsor, where he received an MA in Creative Writing. Gervais has undertaken many roles in the arts community. He established Black Moss Press in 1969, one of the earliest and most enduring literary publishers in Canada. He was also an award-winning journalist with the Windsor Star, for 35 years, beginning his career in 1974 and retiring in 2008. He was a special correspondent, based in Iraq for three months in 2007. He continues to write "My Town" column on a freelance basis. His books, often concerned with the history of the Windsor area, including Baldoon (1976, a play written with James Reaney), The Rumrunners (1980), The Fighting Parson (1983), The Border Police (1992), and, more recently, Keeping with Tradition: The Working Man's Choir, Forty Years of Song with Il Coro Italiano (2002). His first published novel, Reno, appeared in 2005 from Mosaic Press. Another book, Taking My Blood, charting his time in a hospital, and including photographs he took while he was there, came out in 2005. In addition to being the author of 14 books of poetry (the most recent Wait for Me [2006]), he is the resident writing professional at the University of Windsor and managing editor of the Windsor Review. Gervais is also a trained photographer. His exhibition entitled "A Show of Hands: Boxing on the Border" documented the life of young boxers on the Canada-U.S border.

There have been five accruals. The first accrual (34-2003) has been arranged into 6 series: correspondence; poetry; books and other writing: personal material; published columns and interview tapes. The second accrual (27-2006) consists of 55 photographs by Gervais from an exhibition entitled "A Show of Hands: Boxing on the Border" published under the same title (Benchmark Publishing & Design Inc. & Black Moss Press, 2004). These photographs document the life of young boxers on the border between Canada and the U.S. specifically at the Border City Boxing Club in Windsor and at the Kronk Gym in Detroit. The publication is a tribute to this unique project combining photographs with excerpts from the diaries of the young boxers. The third accrual (34-2006) has been arranged into nine series: published and unpublished works; Black Moss Press; promotional materials, including catalogues, articles, clippings and interviews; education; correspondence; financial records; personal and family records; and photographs and sound recordings. The fourth accrual (44-2008) has been arranged into five series: correspondence; published and unpublished works; journalism and promotional; personal and memorablia; photographs and audio-visual materials. The fifth accrual (25-2011) has been arranged into three series: correspondence; writing and lecture materials; Clippings, financial materials, photographs, and other materials.

Title based on content of fonds.
This first accrual was acquired from Marty Gervais in May 2003. The second accrual was acquired through Cassandra Getty of the Art Gallery of Windsor in July 2006. The third accrual was acquired in December 2006; the fourth accrual in December 2008; the fifth accrual in 2011, all from Marty Gervais.
Finding aid available in hard copy and electronically. There is also a external website for Marty Gervais.
There are no access restrictions.
Further accruals are expected.

Contact: archives@mcmaster.ca
Last Reviewed: August 8, 2007
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