death_date birth_place nationality notableworks name birth_date period article_title birth_name occupation
february 23 , 2009 toronto , ontario canadian '' place d'armes '' , '' civic square '' scott symons july 13 , 1933 1960s-1990s scott symons
 hugh brennan scott symons novelist , journalist
scott symons

hugh brennan scott symons -lrb- july 13 , 1933 -- february 23 , 2009 -rrb- , known professionally as scott symons , was a canadian writer .
he was most noted for his novels `` place d'armes '' and `` civic square '' , among the first works of lgbt literature ever published in canada , as well as a personal life that was often plagued by scandal and interpersonal conflict .
he was openly gay at a time when this was very difficult , publishing his first novel , `` place d'armes , '' which dealt directly with homosexuality , two years before gay sex was decriminalized in canada .
he was an avid diarist , and many of his observations and episodes from his life found their way into his novels .
his writing style was marked by experimental forms and structures , with one of his novels being published as handwritten pages packaged in a box , and by a blurring of the lines between fiction and non-fiction .
