“Youth Cries,” by Margaret Rutherford

Rutherford, Margaret. “Youth Cries.” 1934. An Anthology of Y. C. Verse: A Volume of Selections from the Verse Contributed by the Young Co-Operators and Published in the Western Producer from 1932-1936. [Saskatoon, SK]: [Western Producer], 1937. 32.

Youth Cries

We are the living, and we wish to live
Until our ripest days are richly run;
Nor yet as offerings do we wish to give
Our broken bodies, rotting in the sun,
To God, insulting Him! So let us raise
Protesting voices over land and sea.
Death offers naught and these our earthly days
Give promise of the fuller years to be.

Our hearts throb forth–we do not want to die!
Far echo hears and thrills abroad the cry:
We wish to live and bathe ourselves in laughter,
To know what love is, in a death-free air,
We want to kiss Life’s lips, aspire, and after
We’ll trust that memories will make Death fair.

“Definition,” by Florence Deacon Black

Black, Florence Deacon. “Definition.” The Canadian Magazine 56 (1920-21).

 

“I Did Not Know,” by Dorothy Trail

We posted Muriel Sheppard’s “Silver and Jade” on 18 October 2013, the first of a number of young poets’ contributions to the The Vancouver Sun, 3 July 1943, page 2. Here is the last of these…

“The poems appearing today were written by members of the ‘B’ (junior) Section of the Vancouver Poetry Writers’ Group which is affiliated with the London Poetry Society. […] One dollar was paid for every poem on this page.”

“Homely Council,” by Margaret E. Sangster

Sangster, Margaret E. “Homely Council.” Regina Leader (13 November 1888) 6.

Homely Council

“Morning on Bute Inlet,” by Alice Winlow

Winlow, Alice M. “Morning on Bute Inlet.” The Miracle of Roses and Poems. Vancouver, BC: Chalmers Publishing House (1100 Bute Street), 1926. 56-57.

Alice Winlow wrote plays as well as poetry. Her The Miracle of Roses contains the play of that name as well as a series of poems gathered into thematic collections, each introduced with a quotation from another poet’s work. “The Miracle of Roses” is introduced by an excerpt from Katherine Hale‘s “Morning in the West”; “Flowers” is introduced by an excerpt from Annie Charlotte Dalton‘s “The Ear-Trumpet”; “Music” is introduced by an excerpt from L.A. Lefevre’s “A Garden by the Sea”; “The Province of Mountain, Forest and Sea” is introduced by an excerpt from Marjorie Pickthall‘s “Little Songs”; “For Children” is introduced by an excerpt from Jean Blewett‘s “Heart Songs”; and the final section–“In Many Moods”–is introduced by an excerpt from Frances Beatrice Taylor’s “White Winds of Dawn.”

The copy held by SFU library has taped in the back a newspaper clipping, “Mrs. A. M. Winlow Speaks to Seattle Club on Wednesday,” with the only image of the author that we could find (posted above).

“Silver Slippers,” by Alice Wilson

Wilson, Alice. “Silver Slippers.” [Montreal Poetry Yearbook, 1934]. Sherbrooke Telegram 28 June 1934. 8.

It feels sometimes like the little snippets of poetry that we find in old newspapers, journals, and chapbooks are like Alice Wilson’s little silver slippers, bringing memories of days when women did wear long flowing gowns and delicate footwear to go “dancing, dancing, into the realms of fancy…”

“Meeting,” by Mary Ledingham

We posted Muriel Sheppard’s “Silver and Jade” on 18 October 2013, the first of a number of young poets’ contributions to the The Vancouver Sun, 3 July 1943, page 2. Here is another…

“The poems appearing today were written by members of the ‘B’ (junior) Section of the Vancouver Poetry Writers’ Group which is affiliated with the London Poetry Society. […] One dollar was paid for every poem on this page.”