Call Number: Mss 334 (A.05-79, A.10-07)

Title: Birk Sproxton fonds.

Dates: 1916-1985, predominant 1971-1985.

Extent: 0.63 m of textual records. -- 9 photographs.

Biographical sketch: Birk Sproxton was born in 1943 in Flin Flon, Manitoba. He was educated at United College, now the University of Winnipeg, and at the University of Manitoba where he earned both a Master of Arts degree and a Ph.D in Modern Literature. He taught high school in Boissevain, Manitoba and also taught at the University of Regina, the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, and at Red Deer College. Sproxton edited a number of volumes, including, Great Stories from the Prairies, Trace: Prairie Writers on Writing, and Sounds Assembling: The Poetry of Bertram Brooker. Sproxton also authored a number of monographs including The Red Headed Woman with the Black Black Heart, which won an Honorable Mention for Best Historical Fiction in 2000 from the Manitoba Historical Society. Sproxton was directly involved in founding The Sphinx: A Magazine of Literature and Society in Regina. He served on the editing staff of the journal from its inception in 1974 until the early 1980s. Sproxton passed away on March 14, 2007.

Custodial history: The fonds was donated to University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections in 2005 (A.05-79) by Birk Sproxton and in 2010 (A.10-07) by Mark Sproxton.

Scope and content: The first accession (A.05-79) consists of two series: research and writings regarding Bertram Brooker, and research materials and notes. The second accession (A.10-07) consists of correspondence regarding The Sphinx magazine and 16 issues of The Sphinx.

Source of supplied title: Title based on the provenance of the fonds.

Restrictions: There are no restrictions on this material.

Accruals: No further accruals are expected.

Related material: Bertram Brooker fonds - MSS 16, PC 16, TC 76 (A.80-53, A.88-52, A.03-119).

Finding aid: An on-line finding aid is available at the link below:

MSS 334 (A.05-79, A.10-07).