“In the Land of the Tsar,” by Rosamond Kershaw

Kershaw, Rosamond. “Five Days in the Land of the Tsar.” Canada Monthly 17.4 (February 1915), 222-226; 17.5 (March 1915), 102+

Only three years after this article, despite Tzar Nicholas’s willingness to abdicate, the Russian Imperial family was taken from their home, imprisoned in Aleksandr Palace, then removed to Siberia, where they were shot and bayoneted on the order of Vladimir Lenin on 17 July 1918. The article below notes that St. Petersburg is “now Petrograd,” a sign of the changing times already in Russia.

Ralph Gustafson’s Little Anthology of Canadian Poetry

It is indeed little, and out of fifteen poets, only two are women: Kay Smith and P.K. Page.

Gustafson, Ralph. A Little Anthology of Canadian Poetry (Norfolk, CT: New Directions, 1943).

Margaret Laurence’s poem upon Clara Thomas’s retirement, 31 May 1984

Michael Peterman, “Clara Thomas and her Literary Ladies,” Peterborough Examiner (9 January 2021).

“After the Rain,” by Fredelle Bruser

Here’s the second of the three poems that were published in the Poets’ Corner in April 1939, along side Beatrice Rowley’s article about Victoria, BC. The third, entitled “Easter,” will for obvious reasons appear later this year.

Fredelle Bruser later became Fredelle Bruser Maynard.

Bruser, Fredelle. “After the Rain.” Winnipeg Free Press (8 April 1939): 6.

“Wind Waifs,” by R.H. Grenville (Beatrice Rowley)

Here’s one of the three poems that were published in the Poets’ Corner along side Beatrice Rowley’s article about Victoria, BC. R.H. Grenville was a popular author this week.

Grenville, R.H. (Beatrice Rowley). “Wind Waifs.” Winnipeg Free Press (8 April 1939): 6.

“How Lovely Victoria Could Be Improved,” by R.H. Grenville (Beatrice Rowley)

Whenever I’m searching for something specific in my files, I almost always find a completely different little tidbit to post. Looking for references to Dorothy Stacey Brown, I came across a pdf of the Young Authors’ Page of the Winnipeg Free Press, including, as always, the Poets’ Corner. I’ll post the poems over the next few days. Here, though, is an award-winning article (“First Prize” for something…) by R.H. Grenville (Beatrice Rowley), who by this time was living in Victoria, BC, of which she writes.

I have to say that someone seems to have paid attention. Now, Victoria has some of the best roads, at least for cycling, and an abundance of good art galleries (those that sell art, rather than show it). It is once again the “Garden City,” and far far more British than American. Still no public lavatories, though.

Grenville, R.H. (Beatrice Rowley). “How Lovely Victoria Could Be Improved.” Winnipeg Free Press (8 April 1939): 6.