Persona

Hicks, John Victor, 1907-1999

John V. Hicks was born in London, England in 1907. His family emigrated to Canada and after brief stops in McAdam Junction, New Brunswick and Montreal lived in Wainwright and Edmonton before settling in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in 1918. Hicks was educated at Prince Albert Collegiate Institute, where he lived and worked as a civil servant prior to a 1972 retirement devoted to music and writing. In addition to serving as organist and choirmaster at St. Alban's Cathedral for a number of years, Hicks has published more than a dozen books as well as prose and poetry in the best literary publications throughout North America. Hicks was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature by the University of Saskatchewan in 1987 and a Lifetime Award for Excellence in the Arts by the Saskatchewan Arts Board in 1990. He also holds an honorary fellowship from Emmanuel College, Saskatoon. He died in Prince Albert on 16 June 1999.