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c. 1930

photograph of EJP

ink drawing of EJP

photograph of Pratt family and William Arthur Deacon and children at Bobcaygeon

1930

publication of Verses of the Sea. Toronto: Macmillan, 1930: publication of "The Child and the Wren." Canadian Verse for Boys and Girls, ed. J.W. Garvin (Toronto: Nelson, 1930), 163-164

8 January 1930

letter to Lorne Pierce [letter of recommendation for Anna Bicknell]

24 February 1930

letter to Frederick C. Gullen [book signing session at Eaton's]

28 February 1930

publication of The Roosevelt and the Antinoe. New York: Macmillan, 1930

reviews in Canada very positive; reviews in England positive, in U.S. mixed

attends autograph session in the Book Department of Eaton's on Yonge Street to mark the publication of The Roosevelt and the Antinoe, and later, a banquet at Macmillan Bond Street offices

Spring/Summer 1930

writes a number of short poems, including "Whither?," "The Lost Cause," "To Angelina, an Old Nurse"

29 March 1930

receives letter of praise for The Roosevelt and the Antinoe from England's Poet Laureate, John Masefield

April 1930

elected to Royal Society

writes "The Convict Holocaust"

publication of "Tatterhead." Acadie, 1 (April 1930), 13

15 April 1930

letter to Lorne Pierce [response to Pierce's congratulations on Pratt's election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada]

May 1930

publication of "The Sea-Cathedral." Acadie, 1 (May 1930), 2

14 May 1930

letter to Lorne Pierce [letter of recommendation for Howe Martyn]

June 1930

installed as a Fellow of the Royal Society

letter to Lorne Pierce [request for Thomas Marquis' King's Wish]

Summer 1930/Winter 1931

writes "The Fugitive," "Doors," "Time-Worn," "At a Sanitarium," and "Erosion" under the influence of Claire's near-fatal illness and the prospect of further surgery

2 July 1930

begins six-week summer school course at Victoria College

17 July 1930

letter to Pelham Edgar [poker party at Tullis Drive; summer schedule]

mid-Summer 1930

begins an elaborate ode to mark the twelfth anniversary of Armistice, never completed

29 September 1930

letter to G.H. Clarke [request for copy of John Masefield anecdote]

October 1930

publication in Canadian Journal of Religious Thought, 7 (September-October 1930), 338 of:

November 1930

EJP anecdote from Acta Victoriana

6 November 1930

letter to Lorne Pierce [request for address of Odell Shepard]

December 1930

publication in Acta Victoriana, 55 (December 1930), 23 of:

publication of "That Night There Came to Bethlehem." World Friends, NS2 (December 1930), back cover

8-11 December 1930

reads from The Roosevelt and the Antinoe to the Ottawa branch of the Canadian Authors' Association, the Ottawa Canadian Club, and at the Perth School Board

meets former Prime Minister Mackenzie King at the home of Newton MacTavish, former editor of The Canadian Magazine

15 December 1930

letter to Newton MacTavish [note of thanks (visit)]

late December 1930

letter to Newton MacTavish [autographed copies of The Roosevelt and the Antinoe]

c. 1931

photograph of EJP and Claire at Bobcaygeon

1931

January 1931

publication of "To Angelina, an Old Nurse." Canadian Forum, 11 (January 1931), 141-142

26 January 1931

letter to Lorne Pierce [Pierce's position as editor of Canada Books of Prose and Verse]

February 1931

publication of "The Fugitive." Canadian Magazine, 75 (February 1931), 8

16 February 1931

letter to Newton MacTavish [plans for party; lost eyeglasses]

March 1931

publication of "Old Age." Canadian Magazine, 75 (March 1931), 16

Spring 1931

Claire has operation on her foot

begins to write "Putting Winter to Bed" to amuse Claire; plans later in the year to publish the poem, as a Christmas offering, with illustrations by Arthur Lismer, but abandons the project out of financial and aesthetic considerations

May 1931

publication in Canadian Forum, 11 (May 1931) of:

5 May 1931

letter to Lorne Pierce [borrowed academic gown]

June 1931

publication in Canadian Forum, 11 (June 1931) of:

3 June 1931

letter to Newton MacTavish [party invitation]

mid-June to mid-August 1931

teaches courses on contemporary drama and Canadian Literature at the Nova Scotia Teachers' Summer School in Halifax

completes "Putting Winter to Bed" writes most of "The Highway," and begins new "sea poems," of which "The Way of Cape Race" alone is extant

joins the Halifax Club

gives successful reading of The Roosevelt and the Antinoe

July 1931

publication of "A Prairie Sunset." Dalhousie Review, 11 (July 1931), 217

publication of "Water." Canadian Forum, 11 (July 1931), 380

11 July 1931

letter to William Arthur Deacon [praise for Deacon's article "Toronto" in The Canadian Geographic Journal]

17 July 1931

letter to William Arthur Deacon [Deacon's article in Toronto Mail and Empire; Eayrs' efforts to place The Roosevelt and the Antinoe in New York]

31 July 1931

letter to Lorne Pierce [new "sea" poems (not identified)]

mid-August 1931

returns to Bobcaygeon and assembles a collection of new poems for publication (eventually to become Many Moods); postpones the project because of a lack of "substantial and varied" short poems

September 1931

asked by Frank McDowell, Publicity Manager for the Canadian National Railways and editor of CNR Magazine, to write a poem for the magazine on a "railway" subject; McDowell arranges a journey between Toronto and Montreal in the cab of a new 6000-series locomotive; EJP dismounts at Belleville because of overwhelming dust and smoke, but completes the poem, "No. 6000," within a month

publication of "A Prairie Sunset." Literary Digest, 110 (September 1931), 24

publication of "A Prairie Sunset." CNR Magazine (September 1931), 24

Autumn 1931

acts as advisor and consultant for an anthology of narrative verse, A Pedlar's Pack; selects most of the contents, writes many of the notes and part of the Editor's Preface but is not acknowledged in the publication

November 1931

meets John Gray, later to become president of Macmillan and a lifelong friend

develops close friendship with E.K. Brown

photograph of E.K. and Peggy Brown holding their son (1944)

publication of "The Highway." Acta Victoriana, 56 (October-November 1931), 15

publication of "The Armistice Silence." Canadian Home Journal (November 1931), 17

25 November 1931

publication of "Dreams." New Outlook, NS7 (25 November 1931), 1117

December 1931

publication of "No. 6000." CNR Magazine (December 1931), 9

17 December 1931

letter to G.H. Clarke [scheduling date for Canadian Club recital in Kingston]

1932

Autumn?? moves from 25 Tullis Drive to 21 Cortleigh Boulevard

publication of preface and notes [with Adrian Macdonald] to A Pedlar's Pack: Narrative Poetry for Secondary Schools. Edited Adrian Macdonald [and E. J. Pratt]. St. Martin's Classics. Toronto: Macmillan, 1932, v-viii, 211-240

Foreword to Our Great Ones: Twelve Caricatures Cut in Linoleum, by Jack McLaren. Toronto: Ryerson, 1932, n.p.

January 1932

publication of "The Highway." Dalhousie Review, 11 (January 1932), 472

publication of "The First." World Friends NS3 (January 1932), back cover

12 January 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [arrangements for Kingston reading]

mid January 1932

letter to Lorne Pierce [permission to destroy copies of Pratt's Studies in Pauline Eschatology]

17 January 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [travel arrangements for Kingston reading]

20 January 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [arrangements for Kingston reading]

30 January 1932

letter to Lorne Pierce [renting out cottage]

4 February 1932

reads from The Roosevelt and the Antinoe, discusses its origin, and gives account of life in Newfoundland at the Canadian Club in Kingston

begins friendship with George Herbert Clarke, head of the English Department at Queen's University, who organized the reading

portrait of George Herbert Clarke by Elizabeth Harrison (1937)

6 February 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [submission of "The Lost Cause" to Queen's Quarterly; praise for Clarke's Hasting Day]

13 February 1932

publication of "Whither?" Onward, 42 (13 February 1932), 56

23 February 1932

letter to William Arthur Deacon [note of thanks (copy of review of The Roosevelt and the Antinoe from the Ottawa Citizen)]

27 February 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [revision of "The Lost Cause"]

late Winter to early Spring 1932

writes a number of short poems to be included in Many Moods, including "The Man and the Machine," "The Parable of Puffsky," "A Feline Silhouette," "A Reverie on a Dog"

Spring 1932

writes "The Depression Ends"

7 April 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [use of cottage]

May 1932

publication of "The Lost Cause." Queen's Quarterly, 39 (May 1932), 209

publication of "A Lee Shore." Onward, 42 (May 1932), 170

14 May 1932

publication of "The Child and the Wren." Onward, 42 (14 May 1932), 158

late June 1932

delivers the manuscript of Many Moods to Hugh Eayrs at Macmillan

disappointed at the rejection as "poor" of a group of short poems by Harriet Monroe of Poetry magazine

30 June 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [congratulations for placing "Halt and Parley" in The Atlantic Monthly]

??mid-1932

delivers the tribute at the funeral of Victoria College colleague J.W. Macmillan

writes "The Empty Room"

1 July to 20 August 1932

teaches at the Nova Scotia Teachers' Summer School in Halifax

Claire suffers attack of neuritis

debates with Eayrs over title for new collection (Many Moods) and suggests Sea and Sky as an alternative to Eayrs' Magic and Motley

Eayrs recommends the exclusion from the collection of "For Better or Worse" and "The Decision"

reads poems to more than seven hundred listeners in the Dalhousie University gymnasium

9 July 1932

letter to Hugh Eayrs [revision and production of Many Moods]

26 July 1932

postcard to Lorne Pierce [Halifax]

postcard to William Arthur Deacon [Halifax]

16 August 1932

letter to William Arthur Deacon [gift copies of books by Sir Philip Gibbs]

26 August 1932

letter to Pelham Edgar [news from Halifax; financial difficulties]

4 September 1932

letter to William Arthur Deacon [description of Many Moods]

5 September 1932

letter to Hugh Eayrs [promise to rush corrections to galleys of Many Moods, when received; return to Toronto]

17 September 1932

letter to Hugh Eayrs [promise to re-type poems in Many Moods if galleys delayed; letter from O.J. Stevenson seeking poems for an anthology]

October 1932

letter to Lorne Pierce [party invitation]

publication of "The Depression Ends." Canadian Forum, 13 (October 1932), 10-11

publication of "Putting Winter to Bed." Dalhousie Review, 12 (October 1932), 340-344

publication of "A Reverie on a Dog." University of Toronto Quarterly, 2 (October 1932), 40-48

publication of "From Java to Geneva" ["From Stone to Steel"]. Canadian Journal of Religious Thought, 9 (September-October 1932), 224

November 1932

publication in Twentieth Century, 1 (November 1932), 21 of:

4 November 1932

letter to Harriet Monroe [submissions to Poetry (Chicago)]

21 November 1932

publication of Many Moods. Toronto: Macmillan, 1932:

reviews in Canada positive, though less enthusiastic than for earlier volumes; review in the Times Literary Supplement mixed, though generally positive

30 November 1932

publication of "The Man and the Machine." New Outlook, NS8, (30 November 1932), 1111

December 1932

letter to Kate MacTavish (Mrs. Newton) [gift copy of Many Moods; sales and critical reception]

publication of "The Way of Cape Race." London Mercury, 27 (December 1932), 109

publication of "Sea Gulls." London Mercury, 27 (December 1932), 109

22 December 1932

letter to G.H. Clarke [note of thanks (Clarke's "Brackley Beach")]

1933

early 1933

Claire suffers from renewed attack of osteomyelitis

considers writing about the Viking, a Newfoundland sealing ship that had blown up on the ice fields in the spring of 1931; abandons the idea shortly afterwards

17 January 1933

discusses and reads from The Roosevelt and the Antinoe at the War Memorial Hall in Guelph

February 1933

publication of "Sea-Gulls." Reviews, 83 (February 1933), 53

publication of "Bereft." Canadian Magazine, 79 (February 1933), 22

16 February 1933

letter to G.H. Clarke [note of thanks (review of Many Moods in Queen's Quarterly)]

Spring 1933

decides to write about the 1845 Franklin expedition after reading article on the subject by Jean Mitchell in The Canadian Magazine; makes arrangements to voyage to the Arctic from Halifax on a Hudson's Bay Company supply ship, but is forced to postpone the trip because of teaching commitments at the Nova Scotia Teachers' Summer School and Claire's ill-health; subsequently abandons the idea for the poem

considers the sinking of the Titanic as the subject for a long narrative poem (see The Titanic) after reading articles commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the tragedy

June 1933

publication of "The Empty Room." Canadian Magazine, 79 (June 1933), 8

publication of "Canadian Writers of the Past: Marjorie Pickthall." Canadian Forum, June 1933, 334-335 [essay]

offered the position of Literary Editor and columnist of the newly founded Canadian Comment

13 June 1933

letter to William Douw Lighthall [tour of Great Britain by Canadian Authors' Association members; positive English reviews of Many Moods; sales of The Roosevelt and the Antinoe]

17 June 1933

letter to William Douw Lighthall [note of thanks (gift copy of Lighthall's Old Measures)]

late June 1933

leaves for Halifax while Claire convalesces at Bobcaygeon with Viola and her brother Karl Whitney

July 1933

sees eye specialist, Dr. MacLennan, after coming down with an eye infection

meets his son Hugh, home on holiday from Princeton University, beginning lifelong friendship

reads at Acadia University during a weekend in Wolfville, Nova Scotia

publication of "Literature: The Decay of Romance." Canadian Comment, 2, No. 7 (July 1933), 24-25 [essay]

8 July 1933

letter to Viola Pratt [impressions of Halifax; eye problems; Claire's cast removed; Karl Whitney family to visit Bobcaygeon]

25 July 1933

letter to Viola Pratt [advice about the cottage; Claire's osteomyelitis improving]

28 July 1933

letter to Claire Pratt [money for treats]

August 1933

leaves Halifax for Bobcaygeon but returns to Toronto early because of a relapse in Claire's hip infection

publication of "Literature: Changing Standpoints." Canadian Comment, 2, No. 8 (August 1933), 25 [essay]

20 August 1933

letter to Lorne Pierce [John M. Elson's book on Canadian poets]

September 1933

publication of "Literature: Lord Macaulay." Canadian Comment, 2, No. 9 (September 1933), 29 [essay]

Autumn 1933

completes over a dozen short poems, including "Like Mother, Like Daughter," "The Breadliner's Prayer," and "A Prayer-Medley"; the sonnets "To Any Astronomer" and "The Inexpressible"; "Silences"; and "The Prize Cat" (which he later claimed was inspired by Mussolini's attacks on Ethiopia in 1935-1936)

October 1933

publication of "Literature: The Nature of Poetry." Canadian Comment, 2, No. 10 (October 1933), 26 [essay]

3 October 1933

letter to William Arthur Deacon [review (unidentified) of Deacon's My Vision of Canada]

31 October 1933

letter to William Arthur Deacon [blurb for Deacon's My Vision of Canada, at Deacon's request]

late Autumn 1933

begins research for The Titanic: enlists the help of Arthur Pratt in Liverpool; reads Laurence Beasely's Loss of the Titanic; reads the first-hand account written by the sole surviving officer, Lieutenant William Lightoller; reads contemporary newspaper accounts and inquiries; rereads Frank Shaw's Famous Shipwrecks; attempts to contact, with little success, surviving passengers; contacts the White Star Line for a 1912 dinner menu from the Titanic's sister ship the Olympic

November 1933

publication of "Literature: Francis Bacon." Canadian Comment, 2, No. 11 (November 1933), 30 [essay]

5 November 1933

letter to William Arthur Deacon [praise for Deacon's tribute to Emily Murphy]

6 November 1933

letter to Lorne Pierce [praise for Pierce's Education in a Democracy]

mid November 1933

letter to William Arthur Deacon [has written to Scott, publisher of The Globe and Mail, praising the Literary Section and Deacon's editorship]

16 November 1933

letter to William Arthur Deacon [organizing support for Deacon's position at The Globe and Mail]

29 November 1933

letter to G.H. Clarke [submission of "A Timeless Moment" ("To Any Astronomer") to Queen's Quarterly]

December 1933

publication of "A Prayer-Medley." Canadian Forum, 14 (December 1933), 92-93

publication of "Literature: English Meat and Irish Gravy." Canadian Comment, 2, No. 12 (December 1933), 8 [essay]

letter to unknown correspondent [explication of "In Absentia"]

early December 1933

accepts invitation by F.R. Scott to join Scott, A.J.M. Smith, A.M. Klein, and Leo Kennedy in publishing selections of their verse in proposed anthology of "new" Canadian poetry (New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors); recruits University of Toronto colleague Robert Finch for the anthology at Scott's request

2 December 1933

publication of "Like Mother, Like Daughter." Saturday Night, 49 (December 2, 1933), Christmas Supplement, 8

late December 1933

publication of "Text of the Oath." Acta Victoriana, 58 (Christmas 1933), 13

1934

January 1934

publication of review of Twenty Years A-Growing, by Maurice O'Sullivan. Canadian Comment, 3, No. 1 (January 1934), 31

3 January 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [selections for New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

9 January 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [selections for and promotion of New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

16 January 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [selections for New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

23 January 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [selections for New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

24 January 1934

letter to G.H. Clarke [submissions to Queen's Quarterly]

February 1934

publication of "Literature: New Notes in Canadian Poetry." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 2 (February 1934), 26-27 [essay]

10-11 February 1934

meets with Scott and Finch to discuss New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors and is upset by Smith's criticism of his contributions and by his severe judgement of Finch's poems

24 February 1934

letter to Hugh Eayrs [suggestions for selections for second edition of Book of Canadian Prose and Verse, edited by E.K. and E.H. Broadus]

March 1934

publication of "Literature: The Great Diary." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 3 (March 1934), 26 [essay]

Spring 1934

reads alongside other Toronto poets during celebrations marking Toronto's one-hundredth anniversary as a municipality

24 March 1934

publication of "To Any Astronomer." Saturday Night, 49 (24 March 1934), 2

27 March 1934

letter to Hugh Eayrs [suggested revisions of Book of Canadian Prose and Verse]

April 1934

publication of "Bereft." Dalhousie Review, 14 (April 1934), 64

publication of "Literature: With Hook and Worm." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 4 (April 1934), 13 [essay]

May 1934

publication of "Credo Quia Non Intellego" ("To Any Astronomer"). Queen's Quarterly, 41 (May 1934), 255

publication of "Literature: The Dickens Vogue." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 5 (May 1934), 23 [essay]

June 1934

publication of "Literature: Simplicity in Poetry." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 6 (June 1934), 22-23 [essay]

early June 1934

receives from Scott the newly revised manuscript of New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors

6 June 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [approval of selections for New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

late June to August 1934

teaches at Nova Scotia Teachers' Summer School in Halifax while Claire and Viola visit the Whitneys in western Canada

July 1934

publication of "Literature: Charles Lamb." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 7 (July 1934), 28-29 [essay]

August 1934

completes research for The Titanic and begins writing

publication of "Literature: A Study in Poetic Development. I. The Earlier Yeats." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 8 (August 1934), 20 [essay]

late August 1934

spends time in Bobcaygeon while Claire recovers from a collapsed spine caused by extended train journey

September 1934

publication of "Literature: A Study in Poetic Development. II. The Later Yeats." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 9 (September 1934), 21 [essay]

19 September 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [Macmillan interest in publishing New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

October 1934

publication of "Literature: The Drama of ldeas." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 10 (October 1934), 17 [essay]

mid-October 1934

receives final draft of the New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors manuscript, including Smith's preface, which he sees for the first time; meets with Hugh Eayrs to convince Macmillan to take on the project

24 October 1934

letter to Leo Kennedy [publishing fees for Pratt's poems]

November 1934

publication of "Literature: The Comic Spirit." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 11 (November 1934), 17 [essay]

7 November 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [negotiations with Macmillan; objections to Smith's preface]

30 November 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [offers to withdraw from New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors because of difficulties with permission fees]

December 1934

requests a year-long leave from Canadian Comment in order to work on The Titanic; does not return as a regular contributor but remains on the Editorial Board until magazine ceases publication in 1938

publication in Vox, 8 (December 1934) of:

publication of "Literature: The Fourth Column." Canadian Comment, 3, No. 12 (December 1934), 21-22 [essay]

10 December 1934

letter to F.R. Scott [substitutes for poems owned by Macmillan]

12 December 1934

letter to Margaret Howard [manuscript of Pratt's radio talk "The Light Essay in Recent Canadian Literature"]

c. 1935-1937

pencil sketch of EJP

1935

29 January 1935

letter to G.H. Clarke [teaching summer school]

February 1935

publication of "The Prize Winner." Queen's Quarterly, 42 (February 1935), 109

9 February 1935

letter to G.H. Clarke [Pratt's review of Clarke's Halt and Parley for Canadian Comment]

26 February 1935

letter to Charles Clay [note of thanks (complimentary copy of the Free Press)]

28 February 1935

letter to G.H. Clarke [revision to "The Prize Winner"]

March 1935

publication of review of Halt and Parley, by G. H. Clarke. Canadian Comment, 4, No. 3 (March 1935), 27

6 April 1935

reads a section from the half-completed The Titanic to a group at the Writers' Club

8 April 1935

letter to William Arthur Deacon [progress of The Titanic]

11 April 1935

letter to G.H. Clarke [trouble finding summer school position]

7 June 1935

letter to C.G.D. Roberts [note of congratulations on Roberts' knighthood]

Summer 1935

turns down a position at Queen's University Summer School but is not rehired by the Nova Scotia Summer School because of budget cuts

appointed Editor of the newly created Canadian Poetry Magazine by Pelham Edgar, new National President of the Canadian Authors' Association

photograph of C.G.D. Roberts, EJP, Pelham Edgar, and Nathaniel Benson at a Canadian Poetry business meeting (c. 1939)

completes The Titanic during his last full summer at Bobcaygeon

2 July 1935

letter to Walter McRaye [note of thanks (occasion unknown)]

September 1935

begins work on first issue of Canadian Poetry Magazine

meets Northrop Frye who is acting as an "office boy"

early September 1935

sends the final manuscript of The Titanic to Hugh Eayrs at Macmillan for pre-Christmas publication

Autumn 1935

works on final version of manuscript of New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors

October 1935

publication of "The Titanic: The Convergence of the Twain." Canadian Comment, 4, No. 10 (October 1935), 9-10 [essay]

13 October 1935

letter to F.R. Scott [Pratt's editorship of Canadian Poetry Magazine]

21 October 1935

letter to G.H. Clarke [solicitation of Clarke's verse for Canadian Poetry Magazine]

25 October 1935

letter to G.H. Clarke [acceptance of Clarke's "Hymn to the Spirit Eternal" for Canadian Poetry Magazine]

November 1935

publication of "The Weather Glass." Canadian Forum, 14 (November 1935), 362

9 November 1935

attends alumni dinner at Victoria College to launch The Titanic

15 November 1935

grand launch of The Titanic by Macmillan in the library of St. Martin's House; discusses the process of research for the poem

photograph of the grand launch

menu for the grand launch

16 November 1935

publication of The Titanic. Toronto: Macmillan, 1935

well-reviewed in Canada; negative review in the Times Literary Suppement; disappointing sales

20 November 1935

letter to Wilson MacDonald [note of thanks (for MacDonald's congratulations on The Titanic); offer of publication]

29 November 1935

letter to F.R. Scott [status of New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors; solicitation of verse for Canadian Poetry Magazine]

5 December 1935

letter to Dorothy Livesay [revisions to Livesay's "Night and Day"]

14 December 1935

letter to Charles Clay [note of thanks (calling attention to positive notice of Canadian Poetry Magazine in the Winnipeg Free Press)]

20 December 1935

letter to F.R. Scott [poems by Scott, Leo Kennedy and Robert Finch to be included in Canadian Poetry Magazine; dissatisfaction with Smith's preface to New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

27 December 1935

letter to Charles Clay [rejected poems]

28 December 1935

letter to G.H. Clarke [selections for first issue of Canadian Poetry Magazine]

1936

January 1936

publication of "Foreword." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 1, No. 1 (January 1936), 5-7 [editorial]

14 January 1936

letter to F.R. Scott [rejection of Smith's preface to New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors; suggestion that Scott write short statement to replace it]

29 January 1936

letter to G.H. Clarke [solicitation of Pratt's unpublished poems for Queen's Quarterly]

mid-February 1936

disappointed by the quality of submissions to Canadian Poetry Magazine, and by the decision to award a prize to Audrey Brown's "romantic" "Penelope" rather than to Dorothy Livesay's "modern" "Day and Night"

22 February 1936

letter to G.H. Clarke [comments on editing Canadian Poetry Magazine]

23 February 1936

letter to F.R. Scott [enclosing cheque for New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors publication; approval of Scott's preface; reflections on the first issue of Canadian Poetry Magazine]

March 1936

lectures on "Tendencies in Modern Poetry" to the Association of Canadian Bookmen

publication of "Silences." Canadian Forum, 15 (March 1936), 9

publication of "Slang: Why and Why Not." Canadian Comment, 5, No. 3 (March 1936), 28-29 [essay]

14 March 1936

letter to G.H. Clarke [Clarke's appearance in Canadian Poetry Magazine]

Spring 1936

first comprehensive study of Pratt's work appears in W.E. Collins's The White Savannahs

27 March 1936

letter to G.H. Clarke [Clarke's appearance in Canadian Poetry Magazine]

April 1936

repeats lecture on "Tendencies in Modern Poetry" to the Ontario Education Association in Toronto

publication of "The Prize Cat." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 1 (April 1936), 23

publication of "Comment." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 1, No. 2 (April 1936), 5-6 [editorial]

letter to G.H. Clarke [reading proofs of "Hymn to the Spirit Eternal" for Canadian Poetry Magazine]

May 1936

publication in New Frontier, 1 (May 1936), 15 of:

8 May 1936

letter to Ina H. McCauley [historical facts relevant to The Titanic]

9 May 1936

publication in New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors. Toronto: Macmillan, 1936 of:

volume sells poorly, ignored by most reviewers

20 May 1936

letter to Lorne Pierce [British journals that might publish Pierce's essay on Pratt]

28 May 1936

letter to Charles Clay [solicitation of Clay's verse for Canadian Poetry Magazine]

2 June 1936

letter to G.H. Clarke [unavailability of Northrop Frye for unspecified position]

late June 1936

leaves Toronto for Vancouver to begin teaching at the University of British Columbia's Summer School

July 1936

publication of "Comment." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 1, No. 3 (July 1936), 5-6 [editorial]

7 July 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [description of University of British Columbia and living and teaching arrangements]

12 July 1936

letter to Lorne Pierce [copyright ownership of poems to be included in Pierce's Cap and Bells]

14 July 1936

attends week-long annual conference of the Canadian Authors' Association in Vancouver; reads paper entitled "Some Tendencies in Modern Poetry"; makes the first of several visits to the home of Vancouver poet Annie Charlotte Dalton

15 July 1936

speaks to the Kiwanis Club on The Roosevelt and the Antinoe

16 July 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [speaking engagements in British Columbia]

late July 1936

reads poems at a "literary breakfast" in Victoria after the Canadian Authors' Association conference ends

20 July 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [plans to rent summer home in Vancouver]

24 July 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [health of Claire and Viola]

24-25 July 1936

attends the Canadian Open Golf Tournament at the Shaughnessy Heights course in Vancouver; meets and dislikes poet Audrey Alexander Brown

27 July 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [description of visit with the Victoria Poetry Society after the Canadian Authors' Association conference]

6 August 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [Earle Birney and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]

10 August 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [progress on Shakespeare lectures; Earle Birney's ideals]

11 August 1936

visits the home of Earle Birney, an acquaintance from the University of Toronto during the early 1930s; discusses politics and sees poetic potential in Birney

13 August 1936

letter to Viola Pratt [end of summer session at University of British Columbia]

14 August 1936

attends meeting of the Victoria Poetry Society

begins friendship with President Eugenie Perry after debate over one of her sonnets

late August 1936

letter to Winnie Eayrs [request for return of photographs used in The Titanic]

2 September 1936

letter to Eugenie Perry [response to report of interview with Lady Tweedsmuir (wife of the Governor-General) concerning Canadian Poetry Magazine]

late September 1936 to March 1937

writes most of the poems for a new collection (The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems), including "The Fable of the Goats," during a hiatus in publication of the Canadian Poetry Magazine

October 1936

publication of "Thanksgiving." Missionary Monthly (October 1936), front cover

November 1936

publication of "The Twentieth Century Prophet." Canadian Forum, 16 (November 1936), 24

18 November 1936

letter to Charles Clay [note of thanks (calendar with Canadian Poetry Magazine quotations)]

letter to Hugh Eayrs [National Book Fair; Claire's health]

December 1936

publication of "Dictator (Baritone)" ("The Baritone"). Canadian Forum, 16 (December 1936), 7

publication of "Mother and Child." World Friends, NS8 (December 1936), back cover

1 December 1936

letter to Eugenie Perry [acceptance of "Lumber Camp" in Canadian Poetry Magazine]

1937

publication of Introduction and Notes to Under the Greenwood Tree: Or, The Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School, by Thomas Hardy. St. Martin's Classics. Toronto: Macmillan, 1937, ix-xiii, 275-279

3 February 1937

telegram to E.K. Brown [party invitation]

March 1937

publication of "Brighter Days Ahead." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 1, No. 4 (March 1937), 5-6 [editorial]

16 April 1937

letter to Lorne Pierce [request for prose for Canadian Poetry Magazine; enclosing manuscript of The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems]

15 May 1937

letter to G.H. Clarke [poetry award]

24 May 1937

leaves for leisure cruise to the Caribbean (Jamaica, Nassau, and Bermuda) with his family upon recommendation of Claire's doctor to aid her recovery from foot surgery

photograph of Claire, EJP, and Viola on cruise

June 1937

publication of "Entering the Second Year." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 2, No. 1 (June 1937), 5-6 [editorial]

7 June 1937

greeted by reporters and photographers in Kingston, Jamaica as a "famous Canadian poet"

19 June 1937

returns to Toronto

23 June 1937

letter to G.H. Clarke [thanks for comments on The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems; congratulations on poetry award]

29 June 1937

letter to Charles Clay [acceptance of "To a Friend Who Died Young" in Canadian Poetry Magazine]

early July to 22 August 1937

teaches summer school courses on Shakespeare, and Modern Poetry and Drama at the University of British Columbia

13 July 1937

letter to Pelham Edgar [news from Vancouver]

21 July 1937

letter to Eugenie Perry [visit to Victoria]

29 July 1937

letter to Claire Pratt [stamps and menus]

30 July 1937

hosts English department dinner for Professor Garnett G. Sedgewick at the Georgia Hotel

begins extramarital affair which continues in Toronto but which he brings to an end soon after his return

7 August 1937

letter to Claire Pratt [news from Vancouver]

14 August 1937

addresses the Victoria Poetry Group

13 September 1937

letter to Lorne Pierce [response to "Wheat and Barley" by Annie Dalton]

October 1937

publication of "Puck Reports Back." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 2 (October 1937), 43-49

18 October 1937

letter to G.H. Clarke [Canadian Poetry Magazine meeting]

20 October 1937

letter to Lorne Pierce [anonymous satire of Pierce and Pratt]

letter to G.H. Clarke [Canadian Poetry Magazine meeting]

28 October 1937

publication of The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems. Toronto: Macmillan, 1937:

generally warm reception; critics comment favourably on new interest in contemporary issues; does not sell well

3 November 1937

letter to F.R. Scott [royalties from sales of New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]

24 November 1937

as editor of Canadian Poetry Magazine organizes 'Poetry Magazine Night' at University of Toronto's Convocation Hall, with Lord Tweedsmuir presenting the first Governor-General's Medals for fiction and non-fiction (no poetry award was presented for 1936); reads poems alongside C.G.D. Roberts, Wilson MacDonald, Katherine Hale, G.H. Clarke, and Nathaniel Benson

December 1937

publication of "Canadian Poetry Night." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 2, No. 3 (December 1937), 5 [editorial]

6 December 1937

letter to Annie Charlotte Dalton [praise for Dalton's "Wheat and Barley"]

1938

publication in A New Canadian Anthology. Toronto: Crucible Press, 1938 of:

publication of Foreword to Down the Years, by Samuel Morgan-Powell. Toronto: Macmillan, 1938, v-viii

letter to William Arthur Deacon [Pratt's extramarital affair]

12 January 1938

letter to G.H. Clarke [teaching position at Queen's University Summer School]

21 January 1938

letter to G.H. Clarke [accommodations in Kingston]

28 January 1938

letter to G.H. Clarke [accommodations in Kingston; source of "The Fable of the Goats"]

18 February 1938

letter to J.R.M. Butler (Cambridge University) [letter of recommendation for Desmond Pacey]

22 February 1938

speaks at Timothy Eaton Club

12 March 1938

letter to G.H. Clarke [advice on accommodations in Vancouver]

18 March 1938

letter to G.H. Clarke [note of thanks (review of The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems)]

5 April 1938

letter to C.G.D. Roberts [poems submitted to the Canadian Poetry Magazine]

10 April 1938

letter to Leo Cox [Cox's River Without End]

May 1938

publication of "Bookman Profiles: Annie Charlotte Dalton." Canadian Bookman, 20 (April-May 1938), 11 [essay]

2 May 1938

letter to Ina McCauley [commentary on "The Empty Room"; general news]

31 May 1938

letter to E.K. Brown [praise for Brown's work]

June 1938

introduces review section to Canadian Poetry Magazine and writes most of the unsigned reviews himself in 1938-1939

publication of "The Third Year." Canadian Poetry Magazine, 3, No. 1 (June 1938), 7-8 [editorial]

letter to Roderick S. Kennedy [unable to identify poem]

8 June 1938

letter to G.H. Clarke [summer schedule]

Summer 1938

writes the "Canadian Poetry -- Past and Present" at the request of E.K. Brown, co-editor of the University of Toronto Quarterly;

writes "The Impatient Earth" and "The Submarine" (inspired by the 1937 film Submarine D-1); completes "Old Harry," begun some time earlier

late 1938

completes "The Anomaly" and "The Stag," begun several months before

5 July to 20 August 1938

teaches summer school courses at Queen's University, Kingston

26 July 1938

letter to Charles Clay [article on C.F. Lloyd for Canadian Poetry Magazine]

23 August 1938

letter to Charles Clay [receipt of article]

September 1938

reads "The Submarine" at a gathering of the Toronto Writer's Club

Autumn 1938

forms the idea for Brébeuf and His Brethren during discussions with Frank McDowell on his work in progress, a historical novel based on the story of the Huron Mission (published as The Champlain Road, 1939)

October 1938

publication of "Canadian Poetry — Past and Present." University of Toronto Quarterly, 8 (October 1938), 1-10 [essay]

28 October 1938

letter to G.H. Clarke [publication of Clarke's "Sunset off Spanish Bank, Vancouver"]

November 1938

publication of "The Impatient Earth." Queen's Quarterly, 45 (November 1938), 542

5 November 1938

announcement that The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems has been awarded the first Governor-General's Medal for Poetry

28 November 1938

letter to Leslie Barnard [note of thanks (congratulations for being awarded Governor-General's Medal)]

December 1938

publication of "The Manger Under the Star." World Friends, NS10 (December 1938), front cover

publication of "The Submarine." Canadian Forum, 18 (December 1938), 274-275

1939

letter to Earle Birney [submissions for poetry prize]

letter to Earle Birney [criticism of Paul Potts]

early 1939

letter to Earle Birney [praise for unidentified poem by Birney; submissions to Canadian Poetry Magazine]

Winter 1939

begins work on Brébeuf and His Brethren

publication of "The Old Eagle" ("The Dying Eagle"). Queen's Quarterly, 46 (Winter 1939), 428-430

early January 1939

begins research on Brébeuf and His Brethren, and reads The Jesuit Relations and Parkman's The Jesuits of North America

3 January 1939

first of a series of national radio broadcasts by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation featuring Canadian poets and their work

29 January 1939

letter to G.H. Clarke [areas in which Pratt is comfortable teaching]

Spring 1939

passed over, in spite of being the senior member of the department, for the position of Head of English at Victoria College after the retirement of Pelham Edgar; is offered instead the position of Senior Professor of English Literature

February 1939

publication of "Old Harry." Queen's Quarterly, 46 (February 1939), 66

7 February 1939

letter to G.H. Clarke [reservations over teaching Chaucer]

22 March 1939

addresses Women's Canadian Club in Orillia, criticizing the direction of poetry since the First World War

April 1939

publication of review of By Stubborn Stars and Other Poems, by Kenneth Leslie. Canadian Poetry Magazine, 3, No. 4 (April 1939), 44-45

2 April 1939

letter to Leo Cox [request for book reviews]

13 May 1939

accepts, with misgivings, the position of President of the Toronto branch of the Canadian Authors' Association

16 May 1939

letter to Madge Macbeth [note of apology (misunderstanding at Canadian Authors' Association meeting in Toronto)]

letter to Lorne Pierce [thanks for congratulations on Pratt's appointment as Senior Professor of English]

June 1939

visits Martyrs' Shrine in Midland, Ontario; meets with Father Lally, custodian of the Shrine, and with Father Penfold, historian of the Jesuit Order of Canada; makes notes on vegetation, topography and toponomy of the Huronia sites; spends several weekends at the seminary in Guelph being instructed in the tenets and practices of Roman Catholicism at the invitation of Father Penfold

late 1939

plans, at the request of Hugh Eayrs, to complete Brébeuf and His Brethren in time to sell to visitors at Fort Ste. Marie during the Jesuit quadricentennial in July and August of 1940

early July to 18 August 1939

teaches summer school courses at Queen's University, Kingston

photograph of EJP before Queen's University Library

5 July 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [living and teaching arrangements in Kingston]

letter to Viola Pratt [research for Brébeuf and His Brethren]

10 July 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [Claire's trip to Red Deer]

13 July 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [news about Kingston]

16 July 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [receipt of letter]

20 July 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [sources and progress of Brébeuf and His Brethren]

24 July 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [fishing trip]

28 July 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [golf; lecture tour]

August 1939

letter to G.H. Clarke [revisions to "The Old Eagle"; recommendation of M.M.H.(Murdo) MacKinnon]

1 August 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [golf tournament; planning to attend tercentenary celebrations at Fort Ste. Marie]

3 August 1939

eliminated in the second round of the Cataraqui Golf Tournament sponsored by the Summer School

5 August 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [golf tournament]

12 August 1939

letter to Claire Pratt [Claire's travel arrangements]

mid-August?? 1939

reads from The Titanic before seven hundred students on the last day of summer school

18 August 1939

returns to Toronto from Kingston and leaves immediately for Midland for a final visit to Martyrs' Shrine before beginning Brébeuf and His Brethren; watches a theatrical re-enactment of the martyrdoms and burning of the Mission

early Autumn 1939

completes "Still Life," "The Radio in the Ivory Tower," and "The Old Eagle"

October 1939

publication of review of Cross Country, by Alan Creighton. Canadian Poetry Magazine, 4, No. 2 (October 1939), 45-46

21 October 1939

letter to Madge Macbeth [Canadian Authors' Association meeting]

28 October 1939

publication of "Still Life." Saturday Night (28 October 1939), 3

18 November 1939

letter to Mazo de la Roche [Conveys Pelham Edgar's regret at missing CAA (Toronto Branch) dinner honoring de la Roche]

30 November 1939

letter to members of the Canadian Authors Association [organizing lobby of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for air time for book reviews]

December 1939

publication of "The Radio in the Ivory Tower." Canadian Forum, 19 (December 1939), 276-277
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