by Malcolm Fraser
Illustration by Nicole Aline Legault

Robyn Fadden, a contributor to the mRb among countless other local cultural projects, died of cancer on September 23, 2024. She was forty-nine.

Robyn and I had known each other for years. In the early 2000s, we would cross paths on the cultural scene, eyeing each other warily as writers for the rival alt-weekly newspapers Hour (Robyn) and Mirror (me). (I’m very aware that some of our younger readers may not even have any memory of these publications, and to be honest the rivalry seemed pretty stupid to me even at the time, but it was very real!) It was not until later, when we both lived in the same neighbourhood as parents of kids the same age, that we became friends.

When I started working for the mRb as associate editor in 2020, one of my big tasks was to find new writers. It so happened that we needed someone to do the poetry roundups that appear in each issue. Robyn seemed like an obvious choice; after all, her social media handle was @apoemabouteverything. Our editor, Mélanie Grondin, was over the moon at Robyn’s writing. With her clear, insightful, and expressive writing, she was the poetry critic Mel had been looking for and had trouble finding. Robyn would write extensively in our poetry section for the following few years (you can read her mRb work here).

With her laid-back West Coast attitude, Robyn often treated our deadlines as mere suggestions. But when her copy did come in, it was always clean, beautifully written, and well suited to the subject. She was also a master of diplomatic criticism, always finding a kind take on something that wasn’t to her taste. 

Robyn wrote cultural roundups for Tourism Montreal, and she always knew what was going on in the city – whether it was a concert, a screening, an art show, a protest, or a family-friendly event. She was deeply involved in local culture as a musician (playing keyboards with Triceratreetops, Warm Wave, Brother Moon Sister Sun, and other projects), CKUT radio host (first of the science show Free Radicals, circa 2008-2011, and more recently of feminist parenting show In the Motherhood), and just a person who loved to go out and experience the city.

The always fabulous Robyn in fancy dress for an event in 2006. Photo: Norsola Johnson

In recent years, Robyn edited the McGill Faculty of Management publication Delve, where she would explore her love of technology and innovation (another one of our differences: whereas I have been called a Luddite, Robyn was extremely online and an early adopter who took delight in the latest gadgets, trends, and terminology). This also gave her the opportunity to hire many local writers, including me. I edited her at the mRb, she edited me at Delve, and there was never any awkwardness or ego involved – not always a given with a couple of sensitive writers. I was amazed at her work ethic; while holding down her full-time job at Delve, she continued to write for the mRb and Tourism Montreal, and do her radio show, on top of parenting and maintaining an active social life.

When Robyn got sick, we all assumed she would pull through. She had a tremendous love of life and a fierce willingness to live, and she treated the condition with her trademark positivity and optimism. But the cancer moved fast and aggressively. She was in tremendous pain towards the end, and as much as it hurts to say it, passing on was a blessed relief from her suffering.

Today when I think about her handle, @apoemabouteverything, it seems to have a deeper meaning than I first thought. Robyn didn’t just see the poetry in everyday life; she took in everything, and transformed it into poetic beauty. I hope I can take just a little bit of her warm, open embrace of life and carry it forward. Rest in peace, beautiful soul.mRb