“In the Square,” by Jessie Playfair Bickford
30 Monday Sep 2019
Posted Poetry
in30 Monday Sep 2019
Posted Poetry
in26 Thursday Sep 2019
Pickthall, Marjorie. “Two Ears.” Marjorie Pickthall: A Book of Remembrance, by Lorne Pierce (Toronto: Ryerson, 1925).
More gems discovered while poking about looking for obscure answers, such to the question: Was Marjorie Pickthall’s first publication—”Two Ears”—part of the “Circle of Young Canada” column in the Toronto Globe?
“Two Ears” was first published in 1898, and according to Lorne Pierce, after that publication—for which she received three dollars— she began to contribute to the “Young People’s Corner” column in The Mail and Empire. In 1899, she submitted “Two Ears” and a poem, “Song of the Nixies,” and won awards for both of them (to the tune of $15). What I still can’t figure out is whether or not “Two Ears” was originally published as part of the “Circle of Young Canada.” It would almost certainly have had to have been, but I would love to see a digitized copy of the column. The Toronto Public Library has digitized some articles, including “The Children’s Circle” on page 7 of most issues, but searches don’t turn up “Two Ears.” This does suggest, though, that the “Circle of Young Canada” might have begun life as “The Children’s Circle”… but I can only download the articles they have digitized, even though I can view the entire paper. The mind boggles.
Regardless, here is the story, “Two Ears,” from the pages of Marjorie Pickthall: A Book of Remembrance as well as an article about Pickthall from the 25 July 1925 edition of The Globe (p. 18).
23 Monday Sep 2019
Posted Poetry
inHooke, Hilda Mary. “Autumn. Canadian Bookman (October 1919): 30.
We don’t yet have an entry for Hilda Mary Hooke, although we do have a photograph, and there is at least one semi-biographical article available online.
Image from John. W. Garvin, ed., Canadian Poets, 2nd ed. (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1926).
And here is the poem in Canadian Poets (1926). At the time, Hilda Mary Hooke had not yet published a volume of poetry, but during her lifetime, she did publish a work of fiction, a collection of plays, and two stand-alone plays.
20 Friday Sep 2019
Posted Poetry
in15 Sunday Sep 2019
Posted Digital text, Poetry
inScrace, Richard [Lydia Frances Williamson] and Owen Templeton Garrett Williamson. Duet for Cello and Drum (Toronto: Southam, 1947).
12 Thursday Sep 2019
Posted Poetry
in03 Tuesday Sep 2019
Posted Poetry
inAnother occasional poet found in our peregrinations though the digital world. Alberta Irene Morton is the daughter of a more prolific poet, Irene Elder Morton (1849-1923). As far as we can tell, Alberta published very infrequently, although she is credited with having invented a fruit washing apparatus. Her work appears in British publisher Arthur Stockwell’s Poet’s Library, in volumes 9 and 11. Here is the poem from volume 11:
Morton, Alberta Irene. “Sureness.” The Poet’s Library, vol. 11, ed. Arthur H. Stockwell (London: Stockwell, n.d.): 111.