Edward Alexander McCourt was born in Mullingar, Ireland on October 10, 1907. He came to Canada as a child and was raised at Kitscoty, Alberta. He received a BA from the University of Alberta in 1932 and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving both a BA (1934) and an MA (1937). He taught at various institutions, including Ridley College, Upper Canada College, Queen's University, and the University of New Brunswick prior to joining the University of Saskatchewan as Professor of English in 1944. McCourt was the author of several books, including "Remembering Butler", "Music at the Close", "The Flaming Hour", and "The Canadian West in Fiction" and won the Ryerson Fiction Award in 1947. He also contributed extensively to various journals and had several plays produced by CBC radio. He has been described as one of Canada's most distinguished writers. Professor McCourt died in Saskatoon on January 6, 1972 at the age of 64.