CanLitBooks

(100th anniversary of McClelland & Stewart appropriately celebrated by Canada Post)

(1949 McClelland & Stewart dj; design: John A. Mall?; 1979 reprint; design: N.R. McInnes/Audience)

(ultra-rare 3 LP series, each one signed,  from the 1980s featuring Birney reading with percussion group Nexus)

(the 1942 G-G winning book that made Birney’s reputation ‘overnight’; title poem is widely and long considered Canada’s most famous narrative poem; rare signed reprint dj, Ryerson, 1942; design: Thoreau MacDonald)

(left: McClelland & Stewart dj, 1962–Frank Newfeld design; right: McClelland & Stewart, 1966; design: John Elphick, illustrations–Leonard Brooks)

(signed 1971 McClelland & Stewart: cover)

(from the same time; signed 1973 McClelland & Stewart–cover)

(left: from signed The Bear on Delhi Road, Chatto & Windus 1973 with laid-in letter; right: the excellent, comprehensive 1981 documentary directed by Donald Winkler, available for purchase from NFB)

Poet-novelist (Alfred) Earle Birney (1904-1995) was born in Calgary and raised near Creston. B.C.  He worked as a farm hand, a bank clerk, and as a park ranger, and was briefly a Trotskyite before settling in at UBC where he founded and headed the Department of Creative Writing.

His 1942 classic poem “David” (featured in my Inside Poetry, 2nd. ed.) won a G-G Award as did 1945’s Now Is Time. Birney later acted in and read this poem in a short film which used to be available in Canadian schools. Birney also published three intriguing experimental albums with the percussion group Nexus. His own poetry became experimental in the mid-sixties, reflecting his love of humor and playing with language. Birney died at 91 of a heart attack.

(one of several magazines I have with Callaghan’s earliest published stories; this July 1928 Scribner’s introduces Callaghan as a new writer; stories: “Regret for Youth”, “A Predicament”)

(from the same year, Callaghan’s first novel; scarce 1st ed. Scribner’s, 1928; dj design: “W”; back cover drawing: O’Leary)

(scarce 1929, 1st ed., Scribner’s; dj design: Margaret Freeman; dj in full and hardbound cover illustration)

(left: novella “An Autumn Penitent” was originally published in A Native Argosy; this is the 1973 Laurentian Library/Macmillan pb, cover art by Annalee Orr; right: 1st ed. scarce dj 1930 Scribner’s; designer unknown)

(published in Paris, 525 signed copies ltd. ed., by Edward W. Titus, 1931; this story has the distinction of being Canada’s first lesbian story by a prominent Canadian author; also,”Last Spring They Came Over” was Canada’s/Callaghan’s first obvious male homosexual story, which appeared in A Native Argosy, 1929)

(1st ed. Macmillan, 1932 rare dj by Ermakoff–this one a replica; rare signed 1976 Laurentian Library/Macmillan pb)

(rare beautiful 1st ed. 1934 Scribner’s dj; uncredited artist; rare Key Porter Audio ed. read by Neil Munro with rare postscript comments by Callaghan)

(3 more 1st eds.; left: rare dj Random House, 1935, dj design: Georg Salter; middle: nice 1936 Random House dj designed by Eichenberg, book was made into a rare movie never put on VHS or DVD; scarce 1937 Random House dj by Lieberman–this book was filmed by CBC starring John Vernon as Kip)

(1948 Macmillan; dj and illustrations by Eric Aldwinckle who co-signed this book with Callaghan)

(left: the rare 1st ed. dj, 1948 John Winston, illustrated by Stanley Turner; right; 1974 Scholastic-Tab pb, illustrated by  Michael Poulton)

(his only G-G win–1951; left: scarce Macmillan, 1951 dj, jacket design: Leo Manso, cost $3; middle: the interesting revised 1961 Macmillan dj by Aleksander Werner; right: the 1959 pb Signet; design: Allison, cost 50 cents)

(1st ed. 1959, Macmillan full dj, design: Klenman-Davidson Productions, Toronto)

(full signed 1st ed. dj, Coward-McCann dj, photo: Lee Thody, Rome, jacket design: Ronald Clyne)

(left: full signed 1st ed. dj, Macmillan, 1961; jacket design: Ben Feder; Dell, 1962 pb)

(left: 1st ed. Coward-McCann, 1963; dj design by Janet Halverson; right: uncredited photo from time when Callaghan knew Hemingway and Fitzgerald in Paris; c.f. Hemingway LP below)

(rare signed 1st ed. Exile/Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1985; cover illustrations are details (reversed) from Philip Surrey’s “Green Cityscape; design by Spencer/Francey Incorporated)

(scarce signed 1988 1st ed. dj Stoddart with back cover photo of author toward the end of his life; design Brant Cowie/Art Plus Ltd.; cover illustration: Michael Callaghan, photo: Brian Summers)

(Callaghan was one of the first major Canadian authors who did many magazine pieces and television talk shows; left: story published in Chatelaine, July, 1958; right: article published in Star Weekly Magazine, July 23, 1960)

(1970 2 LP CBC Radio broadcast with Callaghan and many others talking about Hemingway; cover by Karsh, Ottawa)

Novelist and short-story writer Morley (Edward) Callaghan (1903-1990) was a long-time Torontonian who chose to make his work base in Canada after his initial literary successes. He worked for the Toronto Star during which time he became a friend of Ernest Hemingway, similarly starting out. He later spent time in Paris with Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and other American writers, a time which he documented in That Summer in Paris.

Many of his books and stories have Roman Catholic characters and conflicts (e.g., “A Sick Call”, Such Is My Beloved). His book and story Luke Baldwin’s Vow became juvenile classics, often studied in Canadian schools. More generally, his work was compared with that of Chekhov and Turgenev. His work was well-known in the States during the 1920s-1940s , and he was fortunate to have supportive American publishers in his early years.  CBC produced a tv documentary on him as part of the Life & Times series. And his own son Barry is a well-known Canadian author himself.

(beautiful clean dj of G-G winning book for poetry, Ryerson, 1943; designed by Thoreau MacDonald)

(signed copy of A.J.M. Smith: Collected Poems; Oxford U Press, 1962)

A.J.M. Smith–Arthur James Smith (1902-1980) was a member of the Montreal Group which included Leo Kennedy, A.M. Klein, and F.R. Scott. Smith worked with Scott to publish a magazine of modernist poetry. He, along with Scott in his “The Canadian Authors Meet”, and their The Blasted Pine, spoofed and satirized the genteel post-Victorian Canadian generation before them.

His own best-known poem is “The Lonely Land” which pays homage to the Group of 7’s interpretations of Canadian landscapes. Smith and Scott can both be heard reading on the Folkways LP/CD Six Toronto Poets. Later, Smith became an American citizen and taught at Michigan State College from 1936 to 1972, though he kept a summer cottage in Canada.

(rare dj, McClelland & Stewart, 1930; the title page and facing page illustrations)

(1938, Macmillan dj and illustrations done by MacDonald)

(scarce 1938 Rhinehart dj and illustrations)

(Ryerson, 1939 dj and illustrations by month)

(illustration from Hurt Not the Earth by E.Newton-White, Ryerson, 1958)

(left: Ryerson, 1959 dj–and drawings); right: pb cover 1969 Birches End Press–drawings also by MacDonald)

(rare signed House and Barn drawings, DM Press, no date given)

(left: the ultimate overview of his work, U of T Press, 1973; right: poem illustration from this book)

(from the same book: uncolored copy of painting of MacDonald by Lawren Harris)

Thoreau MacDonald (1901-1989) was named after Henry David Thoreau and was the only son of The Group of 7’s J.E.H. MacDonald.  Subject-matter-wise, MacDonald was interested in rural living and Nature. His specialty was black-and-white pen drawings; his lettering and designs adorned many Ryerson books.

Some of his best work includes his father’s poetry collections West by East and Village & Fields as well as: The Iron Door (E.J. Pratt), The Iceberg and Other Poems (Charles G.D. Roberts), Indian Nights (Isabel Ecclestone Mackay), Maria Chapdelaine (Louis Hemon), Northern Farm (Henry Beston), Country Hours (Clark Locke), Andy Clarke and His Neighbourly News, Hurt Not the Earth (E. Newton-White), David (Earle Birney), At the Long Sault (Archibald Lampman), News of the Phoenix (A.J.M. Smith), A Canadian ABC (Lyn Cook), House and Barn.

(clean 1st ed. of 1947 Oxford U Press ed. and bio blurb on back cover)

(same book–tipped in–2 signed letters to friends Marjorie & Ferris Neave, one with a new, original personalized Binks’ poem)

(Christmas card to Ferris from author and wife)

(1967 signed dj; McClelland & Stewart, with updated bio blurb on back cover)

The University of Manitoba professor Paul (Gerhart) Hiebert (1892-1987) was born in Pilot Mound, MB. In 1947,  his satirical classic Sarah Binks was published, followed by a sequel two decades later, Willows Revisited. His Saskatchewan poetess parodies herself and her origins have been ascribed to many sources including Edna Jacques, Pauline Johnson, and even Emily Dickinson! Later, Peter Gzowski used to feature Hiebert and Binks from time to time on C.B.C. Radio’s Morningside program.

(Finch’s first collection won the G-G Award for poetry; this is a rare signed; Oxford U Press, 1946)

(another G-G winner for poetry; Oxford, 1959)

(the above book was a very ltd. ed. of 100 signed copies)

(Finch’s unique poem-extrapolations on Matthew Arnold’s classic poem “Dover Beach”; Macmillan, 1961; promotional photo by Cavouk)

(a scarce signed letter and envelope)

Robert (Duer Claydon) Finch (1900-1995) was born in Long island, educated at the Sorbonne, and taught French for four decades at the University of Toronto. An intellectual poet, Finch was twice the winner of the Governor General’s Award for poetry. My favorite Finch poem is “Sampler”; I used his “Select Samaritan” in both eds. of Connections 2: Relating (Gage).

(rare 1937 signed letter from Ostenso)

(Ostenso’s first award-winning book with blurb on back cover; McClelland & Stewart, 1925; it was adapted as a movie, making it–along with de la Roche’s Jalna and Hemon’s Maria Chapdelaine)–one of the first Canadian novels to be turned into a film)

(two photos from the Tiffany-Stahl movie photoplay edition of the book)

(rare, clean Grosset & Dunlap 1st ed. dj, 1929)

(1943 1st ed. Dodd, Mead dj; indecipherable initials of illustrator)

(from the same book, rare signed endpaper of this title)

(rare dj. Grossett & Dunlap, 1931-32; indecipherable signature of illustrator)

(1943 Dodd, Mead, 1st ed.–Ostenso’s djs were all romantic in tone, much like de la Roche’s)

Martha Ostenso (1900-1963) was born in Norway and came with her family to live in Winnipeg. She met Douglas Durkin, a married professor at the University of Manitoba, with whom she eloped to New York. Ostenso studied at Columbia and was a social worker there before they moved to Minnesota and eventually married. Wild Geese (1925), a prize-winner is generally considered to be her best novel. It was made into a film three times including a Canadian production After the Harvest starring Sam Shepard. Her work and life declined after she and her husband moved to Hollywood, and she later died of cirrhosis.

(Chief Dan George was featured in this well-done 2008 Canada Post issue on “Canadians in Hollywood The Sequel”)

(Hancock House Publishers, 1974, 1st ed. dj)

(same book–title page, rare signed)

(1989 paperback; drawings by Helmut Hirnschall)

Born in North Vancouver, Chief Dan George (1899-1981) was the chief of a Coastal Salish band. He was featured on the Canadian tv series Cariboo Country and The Beachcombers before being cast in George Ryga’s play The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. Later he worked in the films Little Big Man (A.A. nomination) with Dustin Hoffman and The Outlaw Josey Wales with Clint Eastwood.

Chief Dan George was also featured on two LPs: an adaptation of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe with Ann Mortifee and Paul Horn; Kerygma Records, 1972; and Proud Earth; Salt City Records, 1975.

(1st ed. Ryerson, 1945–G-G winner for poetry)

(author photo and blurb on back cover; photo–John Steele)

(tipped-in rare signed letter to a fan)

(dj, McClelland & Stewart, 1981)

(rare inscription from Scott and his wife)

F.R. Scott–Francis Reginald Scott (1899-1985) was born in Quebec City, the son of Anglican priest-poet F.G. Scott. He was an intellectual and constitutional expert who helped found the C.C.F. (later N.D.P.) He was a law professor and later Dean of Law at McGill. In 1977, he won a second Governor General’s Award for non-fiction: Essays on the Constitution. Leonard Cohen paid homage to him in a musical version of Scott’s “Villanelle of Our Time” on his Dear Heather album. Scott can be heard reading on Six Montreal Poets (Folkways CD/LP). I used his excellent education poem “Examiner” and historical satire “WLMK” in two of my books.