An Azorean in Canada: A Memoir

An Azorean in Canada: A Memoir traces my adventures and misadventures from the moment I was born in 1952, in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, to the moment that I emigrate, in December of 1969, and set foot in Toronto, to the present day. It deals with a variety of universal themes such as infancy, adolescence, adulthood, immigration, discrimination, resilience, adaptation and survival in a new country. The tome is divided into three parts which are subdivided into chapters each one with its own title. The third part is followed by an Epilogue summarizing the highlights of my life and times and an Acknowledgments section. It also includes an insert containing authentic photographs with their respective captions.

An Azorean in Canada: A Memoir contains factual socio-economic and cultural information about life in the Azores in the 1950s and '60s and the general conditions that led to widespread emigration to America, Canada, France and elsewhere, in the XX century. However, the bulk of the story pertains to life in Canada where I have lived, studied, worked and raised a family for the last fifty-three years. From specific references to common individuals, to important political personalities and to historical and cultural events stretching from the early 1970s to the present, I allude to and comment on many of them. So, in this regard, An Azorean in Canada: A Memoir is also about the work in progress that Canada remains to this day.

Professionally speaking, I was a high school teacher and department head of French and Modern Languages and, in that capacity, I have much to say about pedagogy and public education. Also, being a firm believer in life-long learning, after retiring from teaching in 2010, I went back to the University of Toronto to do a Ph.D. in Québec literature which I completed in 2017.

In addition, throughout the book I reminisce with fondness about my involvement with an amateur theatre group at the University of Toronto, La Troupe des Anciens, since 1975, and my association, since 2010, with a not-for-profit, the Canadian Education Exchange Foundation (CEEF), specializing in international student exchanges for adolescents. These two organizations brought me much personal satisfaction and pleasure during my leisure time.

An Azorean in Canada: A Memoir will be of utmost interest to members of the Portuguese community, especially those with an Azorean background, who emigrated to Canada, USA, France, Brazil and elsewhere since I am one of their own. Furthermore, past, present and future teachers will find the book educational, informative and entertaining. Finally, anybody out there contemplating doing graduate work, joining an amateur troupe or a not-for-profit, will find in my book all the encouragement needed to actually do it. The rewards will be countless.