Man, as if the death of Harley Hotchkiss wasn't enough of a downer today.
Alberta loses one of it's most distinguished and talented writers. I'm guessing that a lot of people on here aren't familiar with his work, but it's really difficult to state the impact he's had on establishing the voice of western canadian literature in both prose and poetry. His use of dark comedy, fantastic everyman characters, and irreverence toward traditional Canadian symbolism were some of his hallmarks. As a writer myself, nobody has had a bigger impact on my work - probably one of the biggest influences in my life - and I know several other writers who would say exactly the same thing.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/06...-car-accident/
He was a passenger in a car that was t-boned out on highway 21 near Drumheller (a region he captured wonderfully in his 'Badlands' novel). At 84, he was still productive and involved in the region's literary community. Really, a massive loss.