Arthur Scammell

Arthur Reginald Scammell, CM (February 12, 1913 – August 28, 1995) was a Newfoundland and Labrador writer.

Scammell was born in Change Islands, where he grew up and received his early education. He was a schoolteacher in several Newfoundland outports during the 1930s. He left to attend McGill University and did not live full-time in Newfoundland again until 1970, after his retirement from teaching.[1]

Scammell is perhaps best known for his songwriting, most notably, "Squid-Jiggin' Ground", which he wrote while still in high school, and The Six-Horsepower Coaker. However, he also produced a significant body of work that was originally published in the magazine Atlantic Guardian, of which he was also a co-founder. Through essays and stories, Scammell attempted to convey some of the positive aspects of life in Newfoundland outports, which, despite their disadvantages, he saw as providing a sense of community and personal satisfaction that larger centres lacked.

A collection of Scammell's work was published as My Newfoundland in 1966. In 1987, he became a Member of the Order of Canada.[2] In 1977, he received his Honorary Doctor of Laws from Memorial University of Newfoundland and, in 2011, he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (for "Squid-Jiggin' Ground"). In 1985, the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council established an annual award for writers in his honour.[3]