Grace Butt c. 1940. Credit Memorial University of Newfoundland

b. Mar. 8, 1909, Brigus, NL; d. Jan. 22, 2005, Kelligrews, NL

Teacher’s training in Normal School, Memorial University College

Taught School up until 1933
1933-1973 Reference Assistant, Gosling Memorial Library, St. John's, NL.

Butt, Grace (1947). “True Newfoundlanders.” Written for radio to celebrate the anniversary of John Cabot’s arrival in Newfoundland.

Butt, Grace (1969). “Part of the Main.” Play produced by Amalgamated Artists.

Butt, Grace (1975). “Gently falling flakes.” Written for the stage and produced by CBC Radio.

Butt, Grace (1979). “The people’s house.” Produced by CBC Radio.

Butt, Grace (1983). To Toslow we’ll go: and other plays. St. John’s: H. Cuff Publications.

Butt, Grace (1984). An ear or a fear: plays. St. John's: H. Cuff Publications. (“Relationships,” three short plays and “Faces of Women”)

Butt, Grace (1987a). The Road through Melton; and Winterscene: plays. St. John’s: Creative Publishers. Plays produced by St John’s Players.

Butt, Grace (1987b). A way with words: an anthology for the 20^th anniversary of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild. St John’s: Jesperson Press.

1981 Honorary Doctor of Letters, Memorial University.
1986 Lydia Campbell Writing Award, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. An International award that resulted in her play “Part of the Main” being produced at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland.

1937 founded The St. John’s Players
Canadian Authors Association, Newfoundland Branch, First president
Newfoundland Writers Guild, charter member and one of its first life members

Grace Butt began her career as a teacher, but when she married she was no longer allowed to teach, so she took a job at the Gosling Memorial Library. She wrote in a variety of media - drama, poetry, essays and material for radio and television. True Newfoundlanders was written for radio to celebrate the anniversary of John Cabot’s arrival in Newfoundland. Gently fallen flakes was originally written for the stage and was produced by CBC Radio, as was The people’s house. She was a poet and also created radio and television documentaries. She did extensive work with the St. John’s Players and was writer and/or director for other theatre companies. In the early 1960’s she was a regular on “Eyewitness” a CBC/TV programme similar to “Front Page Challenge”. In her later years she was afflicted with macular degeneration and was aided in her work by her adopted granddaughter, Mary Brown, with whom she lived.

Brown, Mary. “Pioneer playwright remembered.” Obituary, The Telegram, January 27, 2005.
“Grace Butt,” in Lisa De Leon, Writers of Newfoundland and Labrador: Twentieth Century, pp. 101–112. St. John's, NL: Jesperson Press, 1985.
“Grace Butt, 1909–2005,” in Jean M. Sullivan, ed., Newfoundland Portfolio: A History in Portraits, pp. 25–28. St. John's, NL: Breakwater Books, 2006.