Canadian poetry is poetry written in Canada, by Canadians. There are three distinct branches of Canadian poetry: French-Canadian poetry (mostly written by Québécois authors), First Nations poetry and English-Canadian poetry. The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... French Canadians or (normally only in French) Canadiens historically refers to inhabitants of Canada who can trace their ancestry to the original French settlers of what is now the Province of Quebec. ... In Canadian English, a Québécois (IPA: ), or in the feminine Québécoise (IPA: ), is a francophone native or resident of the province of Quebec, Canada. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

English-Canadian Poetry

Beginnings

The earliest works of poetry, mainly written by visitors, described the new territories in optimistic terms, mainly targeted at a European audience. One of the first works was Robert Hayman's Quodlibets, composed in Newfoundland and published in 1628. World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... Robert Hayman (1575-1629) was a poet, colonist and Proprietary Governor of Bristols Hope colony in Newfoundland. ... Newfoundland —   (stress on final syllable; for mispronunciations, see Newfoundland travel guide from Wikitravel)— (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Events March 1 - writs were issued in February 1628 by Charles I of England that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. ...

With the growth of English language communities near the end of the 18th century, poetry aimed at local readers began to appear in local newspapers. These writings were mainly intended to reflect the prevailing cultural values of the time and were modeled after English poetry of the same period. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ...

In the first half of the 19th century, poetic works began to reflect local subjects. Acadia by Joseph Howe and The Saint Lawrence and the Saguenay by Charles Sangster are examples of this trend. Early nationalistic verses were composed by writers including Thomas D'Arcy McGee. Many "regional" poets also espoused the British political and aesthetic jingoism of the period. For example, High Tory loyalist & occasional poet Thomas H. Higginson of Vankleek Hill, Ontario, produced paeons to Sir Francis Bond Head (Wm. Lyon Mackenzie's opponent) and the British war effort in the Crimea (such as Sonnet to Florence Nightingale and others), while producing some interesting nature verse exemplifying the all-pervasive influence of Wordsworth's view of nature and the sublime. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joseph Howe, PC (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was born the son of John Howe and Mary Edes at Halifax, Nova Scotia . ... McGee in 1868 Thomas DArcy McGee, PC, (April 13, 1825 – April 7, 1868) was a Canadian journalist and Father of Confederation. ... Sir Francis Bond Head (1 January 1793 – 20 July 1875), known as Galloping Head, was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the Rebellion of 1837. ... Combatants United Kingdom France Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Casualties 17,500 British 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 2,050 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease 256,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War lasted from 1854 until 1 April 1856 and was... Florence Nightingale, OM (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910), who came to be known as The Lady with the Lamp, was a pioneer of modern nursing, and a noted statistician. ... William Wordsworth, English poet William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770 – April 23, 1850) was a major English romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their 1798 joint publication, Lyrical Ballads. ...

Confederation

A group of poets now known as the "Confederation poets" began writing following the formation of the new Dominion of Canada in 1867, including Charles G. D. Roberts, Archibald Lampman, Bliss Carman and Duncan Campbell Scott. Choosing the world of nature as their inspiration, their work was drawn from their own experiences and, at its best, written in their own voices. We dont have an article called Canadian-confederation Start this article Search for Canadian-confederation in. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts (January 10, 1860 - November 26, Canadian writer and poet, considered one of the most important figures in the development of a national Canadian literature. ... Archibald Lampman ( November 17, 1861 - February 10, 1899) was a Canadian poet. ... Bliss Carman , FRSC Bliss Carman, FRSC (April 15, 1861 - June 8, 1929) was a preeminent Canadian poet. ... Dr. Duncan Campbell Scott Source: Library and Archives Canada, PA-165842 Duncan Campbell Scott (August 2, 1862-December 19, 1947) was a Canadian poet and prose writer. ...

Early 20th Century

During this period, E. Pauline Johnson and Robert W. Service were writing popular poetry - Johnson's based on her English and Mohawk heritage and Service writing tales of the Yukon gold rush. Emily Pauline Johnson (March 10, 1861 - March 7, 1913) was a Canadian poetess. ... Robert W. Service Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a poet born into a Scottish family while they were living in Preston, England. ... The Mohawk (Kanienkeh or Kanienkehaka meaning People of the Flint) are an indigenous people of North America who live around Lake Ontario and the St. ... Motto: none Official languages English, French Flower Fireweed Tree Subalpine Fir Bird Common Raven Capital Whitehorse Largest city Whitehorse Commissioner Geraldine Van Bibber Premier Dennis Fentie (Yukon Party) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 1 1 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total)  Ranked 9th 482,443 km² 474,391 km...

In 1915, John McCrae, serving as a surgeon in the Canadian Army, wrote the famous war poem "In Flanders Fields". 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae, MD (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I. He is best known for writing the famous war memorial poem In Flanders Fields. ... Wreaths of artificial poppies used as a symbol of remembrance In Flanders Fields is one of the most famous poems about World War I, in the form of a French rondeau. ...

In Newfoundland, E.J. Pratt described the struggle to make a living on the land in poems about maritime life and the history of Canada. Meanwhile, in central Canada, poets such as Ralph Gustafson and Raymond Knister were moving away from traditional verse forms. Edwin John Dove Pratt (February 4, 1882 - April 26, 1964), who published as E. J. Pratt, was a Canadian poet from Newfoundland. ... Ralph Gustafson (August 16, 1909–1995) was a Canadian poet and professor at Bishops University. ... Raymond Knister (1899-1932) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, and poet who died tragically in a swimming accident. ...

In the 1930s, A.J.M. Smith and F.R. Scott helped inspire the development of new poetic voices in Montreal through the McGill Fortnightly Review and the anthology New Provinces. The "new poetry" valued intellect over sentimentality, or as some have put it, logic over human emotions . Under the editorship (literary) of Earle Birney, the Canadian Forum helped promote similar developments in Toronto. Dorothy Livesay, born in Manitoba, was an important contributor to the Toronto movement. These two urban centres of literary activity provided fertile ground for the development of later poets such as Irving Layton and Raymond Souster. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Arthur James Marshall Smith (November 8, 1902-November 21, 1980) was a Canadian poet. ... Francis Reginald Scott (Frank Scott, F.R. Scott) (August 1, 1899 - January 30, 1985) was a Canadian poet, intellectual and constitutional expert. ... Downton from Mount Royal, winter Motto: Concordia Salus Coordinates: Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 City Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area    - City 366. ... Earle Alfred Birney (May 13, 1904 – September 3, 1995) was a distinguished Canadian poet and twice winner of the Governor Generals Award for Literature (for David, 1942, and for Now Is Time, 1945). ... Dorothy Kathleen May Livesay, OC , OBC , M.Ed , D.Litt , FRSC (October 12, 1909 - December 29, 1996) was a Canadian poet. ... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) Official languages English and French, per mandate of the Constitution Act 1982 Flower Prairie Crocus Tree White Spruce Bird Great Grey Owl Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 14... Irving Layton OC (March 12, 1912 – January 4, 2006) was a Canadian poet. ... Raymond Holmes Souster was born in 1921, in Toronto, Ontario. ...

Post war

Following World War II, a new breed of poets appeared, writing for a well-educated audience. These included James Reaney, Jay Macpherson and Leonard Cohen. Meanwhile, some maturing authors such as Layton, Souster and Louis Dudek, moved in a different direction, adopting colloquial speech in their work. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... James Crerar Reaney (born September 1, 1926 in Easthope, Ontario) is a Canadian poet, playwright, and literary critic. ... Jay Macpherson (born Jean Jay Macpherson on June 13, 1931) is a Canadian lyric poet and scholar. ... Leonard Norman Cohen, CC (born September 21, 1934 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter. ... Louis Dudek (February 6, 1918 - March 23, 2001) was a Canadian poet. ... A colloquialism is an informal expression, that is, an expression not used in formal speech or writing. ...

In the 1960s, a renewed sense of nation helped foster new voices: Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Cohen, Eli Mandel and Margaret Avison. Others such as Al Purdy and Earle Birney, already published, produced some of their best work during this period. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood, OC (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian writer. ... Philip Michael Ondaatje, OC (born 12 September 1943) is a Canadian/Sri Lankan novelist and poet perhaps best known for his Booker Prize winning novel adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film, The English Patient. ... Leonard Norman Cohen, CC (born September 21, 1934 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter. ... Eli Mandel PhD, D.Litt (hon. ... Margaret Avison (born April 23, 1918) is a Canadian poet. ... Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918_April 21, 2000) is one of the most popular and important Canadian poets of the 20th century. ... Earle Alfred Birney (May 13, 1904 – September 3, 1995) was a distinguished Canadian poet and twice winner of the Governor Generals Award for Literature (for David, 1942, and for Now Is Time, 1945). ...

Since the 1990s, several Governor General's Award-winning poets, in particular Jan Zwicky and Tim Lilburn, have been engaged in nonfiction writing that maps the relationships between poetry and philosophy. Zwicky's "Lyric Philosophy" and "Wisdom and Metaphor", as well as Lilburn's collection "Thinking and Singing", are representative works. See also 1990s, the band Germans dancing on the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the symbol of the cold war divide falls down as the world unites in the 1990s. ... This is a list of the Governor Generals Award winners for poetry. ... Jan Zwicky is a Canadian philosopher, poet and essayist who lives Victoria, British Columbia and is a professor at the University of Victoria. ... Tim Lilburn (born in Regina, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian poet. ...

A younger generation of Canadian poets has been expanding the boundaries of originality: Ken Babstock, Karen Solie, Sonnet L'Abbé, George Elliott Clarke and Barry Dempster have all imprinted their unique consciousnesses onto the map of Canadian imagery. Evie Christie's collection, Gutted, seems to evoke the 17th century metaphysical conceit, but in a modern, urban Canadian guise. Ken Babstock is a Canadian poet. ... Karen Solie (born 1966) is a Canadian poet. ... Sonnet LAbbé (born Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian poet. ... George Elliott Clarke (born February 12, 1960) is a Canadian poet and playwright. ... Barry Dempster (born in Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian poet and novelist who lives in Holland Landing, Ontario. ... Evie Christie is a Canadian poet. ...

A notable anthology of Canadian poetry is The New Oxford book of Canadian Verse, edited by Margaret Atwood (ISBN 0-19-540450-5).

Literary Prizes

Notable literary prizes for English Canadian poetry include the Governor General's Awards, the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Gerald Lampert Award and the Pat Lowther Award and Shaunt Basmajian Chapbook Award Since their creation in 1937, the Governor Generals Literary Awards have become one of Canadas most prestigious prizes, awarded in both French and English in seven categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Childrens Literature-Text, Childrens Literature-Illustration, and Translation. ... The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canadas youngest and most lucrative poetry award. ... The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets. ... The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets. ...

Uniquely Canadian Forms

The Viator poem form was invented by Canadian author and poet, Robin Skelton. It consists of any stanzaic form in which the first line of the first stanza is the second line of the second stanza and so on until the poem ends with the line with which it began. The term, Viator comes from the Latin for traveller. A copyrighted example of Skelton's form may be found in his excellent reference book, The Shapes of our Singing, and is entitled Dover Beach Revisited. Robin Skelton (October 12, 1925 –August 22, 1997) was a British-born academic, writer and poet, who lived in Canada from1963. ...

An unpublished example of the Viator is included below to illustrate how the line travels through the poem, its repetition adding weight to the process described. The repeating line is highlighted in boldface type.

Shallot Confiture

It's care in cooking slow and carefully
that turns a shallot glistening golden brown;
in salted water first you must weigh down
the scalded bulbs to meet this recipe.

Boil vinegar and sugary spices;
it's care in cooking slow and carefully
the syruped shallots, gradually,
then overnight, you'll rest the shallot slices.

Then two days more, you'll slow repeat
your patient simmering, calmly, gently;
it's care in cooking slow and carefully
that yields your shallots clear and sweet.

By fourth day, time to lift them free,
to pack them in that savoury sauce,
preserve that silky, golden gloss;
it's care in cooking slow and carefully!

Copyright by contributor, Russell Collier

French-Canadian Poetry

Early verse

The first book written in verse by a Canadian was Épîtres, Satires, Chansons, Épigrammes et Autres Pièces de vers by Michel Bibaud, published in 1830.

End of 19th century

Octave Crémazie is considered the father of French Canadian poetry. His poetry and that of his follower Louis Fréchette are romantic of form and patriotic in inspiration. At the same time, Pamphile Le May was writing intimist poetry about the simple farm life and Alfred Garneau wrote his feelings. Octave Crémazie (April 16, 1827 – January 16, 1879) was a Canadian poet. ... Louis-Honoré Fréchette Louis-Honoré Fréchette, (November 16, 1839 – May 31, 1908), poet, playwright, and short story writer born in Lévis, Québec, Canada. ...

The Montreal School

L'École littéraire de Montréal is not a literary school per se but more of a group of poets that met regularly. In reaction to the earlier following of the romantic Victor Hugo, they took later schools (such as the Parnassian or symbolism) as their masters. The most talented among them was certainly Émile Nelligan, a young poet who stopped writing at only 20 years of age due to mental illness. Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, visual artist, statesman and human rights campaigner, recognized as the most influential Realist writer of the 19th century. ... The Parnassians were a group of 19th-century French poets, so called from their journal, the Parnasse contemporain, itself named after Mount Parnassus, home of the Muses in Greek mythology. ... // Biography Émile Nelligan (December 24, 1879 - November 18, 1941) was a French language poet from Quebec, Canada. ...

The terroir

Outside Montreal, other poets, such as Nérée Beauchemin continued Pamphile Le May's depiction of the life of the habitants. Then came the powerful Alfred Desrochers, a precursor to the "pays" school of poetry of Gaston Miron. Charles-Nérée Beauchemin (February 20, 1850 – June 29, 1931) was a Québécois poet and physician. ...

See also

• List of Canadian poets

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A Milton Acorn Joanne Arnott Margaret Atwood Derek R. Audette Margaret Avison B Ken Babstock Chris Banks Gary Barwin Shaunt Basmajian Bill Bauer Nancy...

External links

• Canadian poetry archive
• Canadian Poetry Association Resource Center
• A digital history of Canadian poetry
• Poetry Resource a website for students of poetry