Jenkins, Phil, 1951- : Phil Jenkins was born June 15th, 1951, in London, England, "the same day an American DJ called Alan Freed began playing black music on a white radio station, and rock and roll was born." "We emigrated to Canada when I was six months old," says Jenkins, "and made a good life in Ottawa. In 1961, the year the Beatles released 'Love Me Do,' we returned to England, settling in Liverpool. My father had cancer and wanted to die at home. He did. My mother remarried, I learned how to play the guitar (everyone did, it seemed), I got an honours degree in Enviromental Sciences, never used it, and in 1978, my term as administrator in an Arts Programme coming to an end, I returned to Ottawa for an extended visit. I'm still here." "My first paid writing job was as a film critic with The Sunday Post of Canada. That lasted until 1981. I moved into magazines, while making some side-money as a singer and guitarist. I still make music, performing in pubs, at festivals, on radio as a solo act and with a group called The Riverbend Trio." "I've written for National Geographic Traveler, Reader's Digest, Canadian Geographic, This Country Canada, Harrowsmith, Nature Canada, Quill and Quire, Travel Life, The Financial Post, and Globo, a German publication." "In 1991, together with Ottawa photographer Ken Ginn, I produced Fields Of vision : a journey to Canada's family farms, published by McClelland & Stewart. Research for this book involved travelling on a long and winding road from St John's, Newfoundland, to Dawson City, in the Yukon. The book enjoyed 13 weeks on the Globe and Mail bestseller list, and won the Ottawa Citizen Non-Fiction Award. That same year, I started working as weekly book columnist for The Citizen. This turned out to be delightful duty which lasted six years, and spanned over 300 columns. I left the column in July 1997." "In October 1996 my second book was published. An acre of time (Macfarlane, Walter & Ross) won the Ottawa Citizen Non-Fiction Award and the Canadian Authors' Association inaugural Lela Common Award for Canadian History. I am currently working on a portrait of the St Lawrence River for Penguin, due for release in the Spring of 2000." "Since 1993 I've lived in the Gatineau Hills of western Quebec, in a straw-bale house, 20 minutes from Ottawa. Along the way, I've picked up a red belt in Tae Kwan Do, and a certificate in scuba diving." Copyright 1998-2000 Editio Online Publishing. All rights reserved. 206877
