Meet Jim Egan (Scholastic Canada Biography)

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-9725-0

32 pp.

Ages 6-9

May 2024

 

I didn't know who Jim Egan was. But, like all Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's books in this illustrated biography series from Scholastic Canada, Meet Jim Egan gives readers the opportunity to be introduced to extraordinary Canadians and learn of their historical impact in civil rights, athletics, science, business, the arts, activism, and more. With a season of Pride starting in June for several Canadian provinces, including the two in which Jim Egan lived, it is only fitting to celebrate the life of this LGBTQ+ activist now.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

Jim Egan was born in 1921 Toronto. He enjoyed many things, like science and nature and reading, but he figured out that he liked boys, not girls. When he had to leave school at age sixteen, rather than pursue a career in medicine, he took on a variety of jobs, from farm work and working in a lab, to joining the merchant marines during World War II. It was during this last endeavour, travelling around the world to transport soldiers and supplies, that Jim Egan discovered places where gay men could gather and be themselves. For the first time, he realized he was not alone in his feelings for other men.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

But, in many parts of the world, and certainly in Canada at that time, being gay was illegal. Fearing arrest and rejection from their families, their friends, their employers, and even landlords, many kept this part of their lives secret. But there were places where they could feel safe, and it was at one such place in 1948 that Jim Egan met his future life partner Jack Nesbit.

As a reader, Jim had always realized the discrimination that gay people endured but he was especially unhappy with the hurtful language used against LGBTQ+ people. He started writing letters to magazines and papers to educate them about gay people. It took a few years before his writing would be published but he got people talking and thinking about them. This started his activism and fight for gay rights, including his biggest fight: the right for equality in spousal recognition for gay couples. Gay people could not marry, adopt children, or receive government financial support like old age security as spouses. After being together with Jack for almost 40 years, Jim knew they had a new fight on their hands.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas

Although the two men had been together for over 50 years when they died in 2000, they never saw the landmark changes that Jim's activism pushed to happen, like making same-sex marriage legal in 2005. Still, Jim Egan's drive for equal rights for gay people was instrumental in making others aware of gay people and their right to equality.

From Meet Jim Egan, written by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Dea

Elizabeth MacLeod may give us the salient facts of Jim Egan's life, from his birth and employment, as well as milestones in LGBTQ+ history in Canada–see the timeline of his life complete with photographs–but she always keeps the heart of the man and his drive for equality at the center of his story. It is clear that Jim Egan was a passionate and sensitive individual who cared deeply for his partner and for equal rights for gay persons, and he had the determination to try to make things happen. Without his efforts, people would not have had the conversations about gay people and the baby steps towards legal equality would not have been possible.

 

As always, Mike Deas's illustrations keep a lightness to a life's story that is rife with struggles. His technique of blending digital with traditional media–sketches created digitally were painted with watercolour and gouache on watercolour paper and inked with black lines–easily takes us from a farm to the city, from the 1940s to the late 1990s. We see communities of gay people together but separate, embraced but also shunned, as well as the worlds in which Jim Egan lived and fought for his right to be himself and with his partner.

 

Meet Jim Egan is another wonderful addition to Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas's Scholastic Canada Biography, now totalling thirteen books. As always, they've introduced us to a significant Canadian whose story reminds us that doing the right thing for yourself and others may not be easy or always fruitful but it's always the best thing to do.

 

Meet Viola Desmond (2018)
Meet Chris Hadfield (2018)
Meet Tom Longboat (2019)
Meet Elsie MacGill (2019)
Meet Willie O'Ree (2020)
Meet Terry Fox (2020)
Meet Thérèse Casgrain (2021)
Meet David Suzuki (2021)
Meet Mary Ann Shadd (2022)
Meet J. Armand Bombardier (2022)
Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie (2023)

Meet Clara Hughes (2024)

Meet Jim Egan (2024)