The Deserter

Douglas Valentine LePan (1914–1998) was a distinguished Canadian poet, novelist, diplomat, and professor of literature whose wartime experiences in Italy inspired key works like his Governor General's Award-winning poetry collection The Net and the Sword (1953) and novel The Deserter (1964), making him one of few authors to win the award in both poetry and fiction. Poetry. He also received the Lorne Pierce Medal (1976) and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada (1998).