A. J. M. Smith
Encyclopedia
Arthur James Marshall Smith (November 8, 1902 – November 21, 1980) was a Canadian poet
and anthologist. He "was a prominent member of a group of Montreal poets" -- the Montreal Group
, which included Leon Edel
, Leo Kennedy
, A.M. Klein, and F.R. Scott -- "who distinguished themselves by their modernism in a culture still rigidly rooted in Victorianism."
, but lived in England
from 1918 to 1920, where he "studied for the Cambridge
Local Examinations, ‘and failed everything except English and history’ (he later wrote)." In England he became aware of contemporary poetry: "he frequented Harold Monroe's bookshop, then the citadel of Georgian poetry
, and read much in the recent war poets and the Imagists."
in 1921. While an undergraduate there in 1924 he wrote for and co-edited the McGill Daily Literary Supplement; in 1925, as a graduate student, he and F.R. Scott founded the McGill Fortnightly Review, which billed itself as a "an independent journal of literature, the arts, and student affairs edited and published by a group of undergraduates at McGill University." The Review was "the first journal to publish modernist poetry
and critical opinion in Canada."
"The McGill Fortnightly drew to it other young writers — among them A.M. Klein, Leo Kennedy
, and Leon Edel
— on whom, as well as on Scott, Smith had an enduring influence."
"While still at McGill," Scott later noted, "Smith had poems accepted by the Dial
, then in the last days of its glory as an expounder of new aesthetic values, and which only a few years previously had printed Eliot's Waste Land
. Such an honour was a stimulus to our whole group."
Smith received his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh
in 1931.
, which was published in 1936 (although Smith's Preface was "rejected by the publisher as being too impatient with traditional Canadian poetry. The 'Rejected Preface' was resurrected in 1964, and was made an important feature of the new edition of New Provinces published in 1976.")
) and taught there until his retirement in 1972. "He became a naturalized American, but spent all his summers in his country place near Magog, Quebec
.' He became well known as both a scholar and an author of poetry, with many of his best known works focusing on Canadian themes (for example his 1929 poem "The Lonely Land," which was inspired by a 1926 Group of Seven
exhibition).
As early as 1939, Smith applied for a Guggenheim Fellowship
to support the preparation of an anthology of Canadian poetry. In 1943 his first anthology was published: The Book of Canadian Poetry, in which he argued that there was a distinctive Canadian voice. The book was praised by literary critic Northrop Frye
, who called its publication "an important event in Canadian literature. For instead of confining his reading to previous compilations, as most anthologists do, he has made a first-hand study of the whole English field with unflagging industry and unfaltering taste." The Encyclopædia Britannica
says that The Book of Canadian Poetry, and Smith's later anthologies, "contributed greatly to the modernization of literary standards in Canada."
for poetry or drama
for his own first collection of poetry, News of the Phoenix and Other Poems.
In 1966 the Royal Society of Canada
awarded him its Lorne Pierce Medal
.
On Smith's retirement in 1972, Michigan State University established the A.J.M. Smith Award, given annually to a noteworthy volume by a Canadian poet.
Smith's poem "The Lonely Land" was set to music by Violet Archer
in 1978.
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...
and anthologist. He "was a prominent member of a group of Montreal poets" -- the Montreal Group
Montreal Group
The Montreal Group was a circle of Canadian modernist writers formed in the mid-1920s at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, which included Leon Edel, John Glassco, A.M. Klein, Leo Kennedy, F.R. Scott, and A.J.M. Smith. Most of the group's members attended McGill as undergraduates. Due to this...
, which included Leon Edel
Leon Edel
Joseph Leon Edel was a North American literary critic and biographer. He was the elder brother of North American philosopher Abraham Edel....
, Leo Kennedy
Leo Kennedy
John Leo Kennedy was a Canadian poet and critic, who in the 1920s and 1930s was a member of the Montreal Group of modernist poets...
, A.M. Klein, and F.R. Scott -- "who distinguished themselves by their modernism in a culture still rigidly rooted in Victorianism."
Life and Writing
Smith was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, but lived in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
from 1918 to 1920, where he "studied for the Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Local Examinations, ‘and failed everything except English and history’ (he later wrote)." In England he became aware of contemporary poetry: "he frequented Harold Monroe's bookshop, then the citadel of Georgian poetry
Georgian poets
The Georgian poets were, by the strictest definition, those whose works appeared in a series of five anthologies named Georgian Poetry, published by Harold Monro and edited by Edward Marsh. The first volume contained poems written in 1911 and 1912. The poets included Edmund Blunden, Rupert Brooke,...
, and read much in the recent war poets and the Imagists."
Montreal Group
Returning to Montreal, Smith entered McGill UniversityMcGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in 1921. While an undergraduate there in 1924 he wrote for and co-edited the McGill Daily Literary Supplement; in 1925, as a graduate student, he and F.R. Scott founded the McGill Fortnightly Review, which billed itself as a "an independent journal of literature, the arts, and student affairs edited and published by a group of undergraduates at McGill University." The Review was "the first journal to publish modernist poetry
Modernist poetry in English
Modernist poetry in English is generally considered to have emerged in the early years of the 20th century with the appearance of the Imagists. In common with many other modernists, these poets wrote in reaction to the perceived excesses of Victorian poetry, with its emphasis on traditional...
and critical opinion in Canada."
"The McGill Fortnightly drew to it other young writers — among them A.M. Klein, Leo Kennedy
Leo Kennedy
John Leo Kennedy was a Canadian poet and critic, who in the 1920s and 1930s was a member of the Montreal Group of modernist poets...
, and Leon Edel
Leon Edel
Joseph Leon Edel was a North American literary critic and biographer. He was the elder brother of North American philosopher Abraham Edel....
— on whom, as well as on Scott, Smith had an enduring influence."
"While still at McGill," Scott later noted, "Smith had poems accepted by the Dial
The Dial
The Dial was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. In the 1880s it was revived as a political magazine...
, then in the last days of its glory as an expounder of new aesthetic values, and which only a few years previously had printed Eliot's Waste Land
The Waste Land
The Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
. Such an honour was a stimulus to our whole group."
Smith received his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in 1931.
New Provinces
In various editorial roles, Smith significantly contributed to promoting the poetry of others. With Scott and Kennedy he co-edited the "milestone selection of modernist verse," New ProvincesNew Provinces (poetry anthology)
New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors was an anthology of Canadian poetry published in the 1930s, anonymously edited by F.R. Scott assisted by Leo Kennedy and A.J.M. Smith. The first anthology of Canadian modernist poetry, it has been hailed as a "landmark anthology" and a "milestone selection...
, which was published in 1936 (although Smith's Preface was "rejected by the publisher as being too impatient with traditional Canadian poetry. The 'Rejected Preface' was resurrected in 1964, and was made an important feature of the new edition of New Provinces published in 1976.")
Critical success
In 1936 Smith became a professor at Michigan State College (now Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
) and taught there until his retirement in 1972. "He became a naturalized American, but spent all his summers in his country place near Magog, Quebec
Magog, Quebec
Magog is a city in southeastern Quebec, Canada, about east of Montreal at the confluence of Lake Memphremagog--after which the city was named—with the Rivière aux Cerises and the Magog River...
.' He became well known as both a scholar and an author of poetry, with many of his best known works focusing on Canadian themes (for example his 1929 poem "The Lonely Land," which was inspired by a 1926 Group of Seven
Group of Seven
Group of Seven can refer to:*G7 - the "Group of seven" industrially advanced nations .*Group of Seven - a group of Canadian landscape artists....
exhibition).
As early as 1939, Smith applied for a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
to support the preparation of an anthology of Canadian poetry. In 1943 his first anthology was published: The Book of Canadian Poetry, in which he argued that there was a distinctive Canadian voice. The book was praised by literary critic Northrop Frye
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
, who called its publication "an important event in Canadian literature. For instead of confining his reading to previous compilations, as most anthologists do, he has made a first-hand study of the whole English field with unflagging industry and unfaltering taste." The Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
says that The Book of Canadian Poetry, and Smith's later anthologies, "contributed greatly to the modernization of literary standards in Canada."
Recognition
Smith won the 1943 Governor General's Award1943 Governor General's Awards
In Canada the 1943 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were the seventh such awards. The awards in this period had no monetary prize and were just an honour for the authors.-Winners:...
for poetry or drama
Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama
This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama. The award was created in 1937, the second year of the awards, and existed until 1980, when it was split into the separate awards for poetry and drama.-1930s:...
for his own first collection of poetry, News of the Phoenix and Other Poems.
In 1966 the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
awarded him its Lorne Pierce Medal
Lorne Pierce Medal
The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Canada to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature written in either English or French...
.
On Smith's retirement in 1972, Michigan State University established the A.J.M. Smith Award, given annually to a noteworthy volume by a Canadian poet.
Smith's poem "The Lonely Land" was set to music by Violet Archer
Violet Archer
Violet Archer, CM was a Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, organist, and percussionist. Born Violet Balestreri in Montreal, Quebec, her family changed their name to Archer. She died in Ottawa....
in 1978.
Poetry
- News of the Phoenix and Other Poems. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1943. New York: Coward-McCann, 19431943 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* September 12 – Abraham Sutzkever, a Polish Jew writing poetry in Yiddish, escapes the Vilna Ghetto with his wife and hides in the forests. Sutzkever and fellow Yiddish poet Shmerke...
. - A Sort of Ecstasy. Michigan State College Press, 1954. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 19541954 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Robert Creeley founds and edits the Black Mountain Review...
. - Collected Poems. Toronto: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 19621962 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Writers in the Soviet Union this year were allowed to publish criticism of Joseph Stalin and were given more freedom generally, although many were severely criticized for doing so...
. - Poems New and Collected. Toronto: Oxford U P, 19671967 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*Cecil Day-Lewis is selected as the new Poet Laureate of the UK....
. - The Classic Shade: Selected Poems. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 19781978 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Magazine, edited by Bruce Andrews and Charles Bernstein, first published...
. ISBN 0771082134 - Complete Poems of A.J.M. Smith. Brian Trehearne ed. London, ON: Canadian Poetry P, 2006. ISBN 9780921243472
Non-Fiction
- "Our Poets." A Sketch of Poetry in the Nineteenth Century. Toronto, 1942.
- The Poetic Process. East Lansing, MI: College of Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, 1964.
- Essays for College Writing. New York: St. Martin's P, 1965.
- Towards a View of Canadian Letters. Vancouver: U of British Columbia P, 1973.
- On Poetry and Poets. Selected Essays of A.J.M. Smith. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1977.
- Selected Writings. Hamilton: Dundurn (Voyageur classics), 2006.
Edited
- New Provinces: Poems of Several AuthorsNew Provinces (poetry anthology)New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors was an anthology of Canadian poetry published in the 1930s, anonymously edited by F.R. Scott assisted by Leo Kennedy and A.J.M. Smith. The first anthology of Canadian modernist poetry, it has been hailed as a "landmark anthology" and a "milestone selection...
(with F.R. Scott and Leo Kennedy), Macmillan Co. of CanadaMacmillan of CanadaMacmillan of Canada was a Canadian publishing house.The company was founded in 1905 as the Canadian arm of the English publisher Macmillan. At that time it was known as the "Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd." In the course of its existence the name changed to "Macmillan of Canada" and "Macmillan...
, 1936. Reprinted 1976, University of Toronto PressUniversity of Toronto PressUniversity of Toronto Press is Canada's leading scholarly publisher and one of the largest university presses in North America. Founded in 1901, UTP has published over 6,500 books, with well over 3,500 of these still in print....
. - The Book of Canadian PoetryToronto: W.J. Gage & Co., 1943. Chicago: University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, 19431943 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* September 12 – Abraham Sutzkever, a Polish Jew writing poetry in Yiddish, escapes the Vilna Ghetto with his wife and hides in the forests. Sutzkever and fellow Yiddish poet Shmerke...
. - Seven Centuries of Verse, English and American. New York: Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, 1947. Reprinted 1957, 1967. - The Worldly Muse: An Anthology of Serious Light Verse. New York: Abelard Press, 1951.
- The Blasted Pine: An Anthology of Satire, Invective, and Disrespectful Verse (with F.R. Scott). Toronto: Macmillan Co. of CanadaMacmillan of CanadaMacmillan of Canada was a Canadian publishing house.The company was founded in 1905 as the Canadian arm of the English publisher Macmillan. At that time it was known as the "Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd." In the course of its existence the name changed to "Macmillan of Canada" and "Macmillan...
, 1957. - Masks of Poetry: Canadian Critics on Canadian Verse. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1962.
- Early Beginnings to Confederation. Toronto: W.J. Gage, 1965.
- The Book of Canadian Prose. Toronto: W.J. Gage, 1965.
- 100 Poems. New York: Scribner, 1965. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries, 1970.
- Modern Canadian Verse in English and French. Toronto: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1967. - The Colonial Century: English-Canadian Writing Before Confederation. Toronto: Gage, 1973.
- The Canadian Century: English-Canadian Writing Since Confederation. Toronto: Gage, 1973.
Discography
- Six Montreal Poets. New York: Folkways Records, 1957. Includes A.J.M. Smith, Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Irving LaytonIrving LaytonIrving Peter Layton, OC was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following but also made enemies. As T...
, F.R. Scott, Louis DudekLouis DudekLouis Dudek, OC was a Canadian poet, academic, and publisher known for his role in defining Modernism in poetry, and for his literary criticism. He was the author of over two dozen books...
, and A.M. Klein. (cassett, 60 mins).
External links
- Five poems by A.J.M. Smith - The Lonely Land, Like an Old Proud King in a Parable, Swift Current, News of the Phoenix, The Wisdom of Old Jelly Roll
- Canadian Poetry: Studies/Documents/Reviews, Vol 11 (Fall/Winter 1982). (In memoriam Arthur James Marshall Smith (1902–1980)).