Earle Alfred Birney,
OCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
, FRSC (13 May 1904 – 3 September 1995) was a distinguished
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
poet. He was twice winner of the Governor General's Award for Literature (for
David and Other Poems, 1942, and for
Now Is Time, 1945).
Life
Born in Calgary,
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
, and raised on a farm in Erickson, near
CrestonCreston is a town of 4,826 people in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The town is located just a few kilometers north of the Porthill, Idaho border crossing into the United States and about a three-hour drive north from Spokane, Washington. It is about a one-hour drive...
, his childhood was somewhat isolated. After working as a farm hand, a bank clerk, and a park ranger, Birney went on to college to study
chemical engineeringChemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science , and life sciences with mathematics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
but graduated with a degree in English. He studied at the
University of British ColumbiaThe University of British Columbia is a Canadian public research university with campuses in the Greater Vancouver area and in Kelowna, British Columbia...
,
University of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated north of the city's Financial District on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. The university was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in the...
,
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
and
University of LondonBased primarily in London, England, United Kingdom, the University of London is a federal mega university made up of 31 affiliates: 19 separate university institutions, and 12 research institutes...
.
Through a brief and quickly annulled marriage to Sylvia Johnston, he was introduced to
TrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party...
. In the 1930s he was an active Trotskyist in Canada and
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and was the leading figure in the Socialist Workers League but drifted away from the movement during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During the conflict, he served as a personnel officer in the Canadian Army, which was also the occupation of the main character of his novel,
Turvey (1949).
In 1970 Birney was made an Officer of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
.
In 1995 Birney died of a heart attack.
Discography
- Celebration: Famous Canadian Poets on CD Canadian Poetry Association
The Canadian Poetry Association began as a grass-roots organization dedicated to promoting the reading, writing, publishing and preservation of poetry in Canada through the individual efforts of members; promoting communication among poets, publishers and the general public; encouraging leadership...
(with Irving LaytonIrving Layton, OC was a 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...
) 2001 ISBN 1-55253-029-9
External links