In memory of Don Kerr

Donald Kerr (BA'57), professor emeritus in the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Department of English and one of the College of Arts and Science’s Alumni of Influence, passed away on Dec. 8, 2020.

One of Saskatchewan’s best-known poets, authors and public intellectuals, Kerr taught English and drama in the College of Arts and Science for more than four decades. He was a prolific writer and editor who served on the boards of numerous community organizations and was among the province’s staunchest advocates for heritage preservation.

Kerr was appointed Saskatchewan’s fourth poet laureate in 2011. He was a recipient of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province’s highest honour.

Kerr’s obituary was published in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

Professor Emeritus of English David Carpenter, Kerr’s colleague and fellow writer, wrote the following tribute.

Don Kerr was a compassionate, witty and beloved member of our department. When meetings threatened to become fractious, and the opposing parties were sitting in clenched anticipation for the dreaded encounter to begin, Don would amble through the door, look around, and find just the right joke to get everyone laughing. This always made for better meetings. As Bob Calder recalls, Don might sit silently during a meeting, well after the early forays and arguments had been made, and then he would read the room and suggest a motion that would touch on all of the major concerns. The motion would pass, and we would all go home. His students of drama and film loved him. He had one rule for late essays: before the offending student would hand in his late paper, s/he would have to write an abject apology, and if the apology wasn’t abject enough, the student would have to deliver the apology down on one knee.

Don's presence in the larger community was equally positive. He was a committed community man, sitting on many municipal boards such as the Heritage Society or the Public Library. I don’t know where he found the time and energy, but he wrote a great deal about these beloved institutions. He loved Saskatoon about which he co-wrote a history with the late Stan Hanson. He knew so much about our town that he became a sort of walking memory of it. And now it feels to me as though our city, our history here, is in danger of being forgotten without Don Kerr to write it down and talk it back into our consciousness.

I will miss him very much. There is too much to say about Don Kerr, most of it laudable, and most of it funny. He was a joy to work with, a joy to write with, a joy to drink with, a wise and outlandish oddball whom I will never forget.

–David Carpenter

Local media have published additional tributes to Don Kerr. Read more:

CBC News: Saskatoon poet, professor and historian Don Kerr remembered as larger than life

Saskatoon StarPhoenix: Sask. playwright, poet Don Kerr dead at 84

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