1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1960
2 January 1960
letter to David G. Pitt [praise for preface of
Here the Tides Flow]
20 January 1960
letter to R.G. Everson [praise for Everson's poems]
23 January 1960
David G. Pitt visits EJP to discuss Here the Tides
Flow and to interview him for possible biography
11 February 1960
letter to David G. Pitt [enjoyed interview]
2 March 1960
makes tape recording for school broadcast
Spring 1960
photograph of EJP with
students at graduation party
attends funeral of former University College colleague Malcolm Wallace
photograph of Malcolm
Wallace and EJP (June 1956)
1 April 1960
moves from 47 Glencairn Avenue duplex to Clifton Manor on Elm Avenue in south Rosedale
12 April 1960
letter to Ethel Allen [note of thanks (help for
moving)]
8 May 1960
photograph of EJP
19 May 1960
interviewed in preparation for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television programme
Close-Up
21 May 1960
has stag party for Northrop Frye at York Club
7 June 1960
records poems by Carl Sandburg and "The Prize Cat"
and "Erosion" at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
studio for programme on Sandburg
30 June 1960
interviewed at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation studio by J. Frank Willis for television
programme Close-Up
EJP interviewed by J.
Frank Willis
25 July 1960
letter to Arthur S. Bourinot [note of thanks
(More Letters of Duncan Campbell Scott)]
9 August 1960
tapes reminiscences of Arthur Meighen at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation studio for radio
memorial
12 August 1960
receives copy of the Oxford Book of Canadian Verse from A.J.M. Smith
13 August 1960
letter to A.J.M. Smith [praise for The
Oxford Book of Canadian Verse]
15 August 1960
broadcast of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation programme on Carl Sandburg, including EJP's
readings of "The Prize Cat"
and "Erosion"
September 1960
letter to David G. Pitt [photograph for
frontispiece of Here the Tides Flow]
22 September 1960
interviewed on film in Edwards Gardens by J. J. Frank Willis for the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation television series "Close-Up," to be broadcast on 7 February of the following year
10 November 1960
letter to Sr. Dorothy Marie Doyle [recordings
of The Titanic]
21 November 1960
reads selections from The Titanic, and of "The Unromantic Moon," "Cherries," "The Good Earth," "Putting Winter to Bed" at Canadian Literature Club
15 December 1960
tapes lecture on King Lear
1961
publication of "Mother and
Child." Greeting card illustrated by Claire Pratt, 1961
January 1961
makes last public speaking appearance, at W.A. Deacon's Globe and Mail
retirement dinner at the King Edward Hotel
7 February 1961
broadcast of interview by J. J. Frank Willis on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television
series "Close-Up"
10 February 1961
letter to Ralph and Betty Gustafson [praise for
Gustafson's "On Such a Wet and Blustery Night"]
11 February 1961
letter to George Johnston [note of thanks (letter)]
19 February 1961
letter to Daphne Pratt House [television interview]
Spring 1961
stricken from Methodist church records after remarks on "Close-Up" television show regarding his "misguided" ordination
11 April 1961
receives invitation to attend the Grand Opening ceremony of Memorial University in St. John's and to receive an honorary Doctorate of Letters
12 April 1961
letter to John T. Stoker [declines, because of
poor health, invitation to attend the Grand Opening ceremony of Memorial University in St. John's and receive
an honorary Doctorate of Letters]
18 May 1961
letter to Jacob Markowitz [praise for
newspaper article]
early June 1961
declines personal invitation from Newfoundland Premiere Smallwood to attend the Grand
Opening ceremony of Memorial University in St. John's
11 June 1961
letter to C.L. Bennet [reminiscences]
14 June 1961
takes Leonard Cohen to dinner at the York Club; Cohen comes back to the Pratts' apartment and
reads "Isaiah" and "A Kite"
25 June 1961
re-broadcast of interview on Close-Up originally broadcast on 7 February 1961
14 July 1961
attends funeral of Mazo de la Roche
26 July 1961
receives letter from Joey Smallwood urging him to attend Convocation at Memorial University
27 July 1961
telegram to Joey Smallwood [accepts invitation]
20 August 1961
letter to Raymond Gushue [will attend
Memorial University convocation if health permits]
7 September 1961
named one of ten recipients of the first Canada Council medals for "distinguished contribution to
the cultural life of Canada"
early September
letter to Alan Crawley [note of thanks
(congratulations for Canada Council Medal)]
10 September 1961
has a bad fall, scraping his shin, which is slow to heal
11 September 1961
experiences difficulty walking; decides to cancel trip to Newfoundland
12 September 1961
letter to Joey Smallwood [cancels appearance
at Memorial University because of fall]
letter to Raymond Gushue [cancels
appearance at Memorial University because of fall]
21 September 1961
unable to attend opening of new Victoria College Library (to be renamed the E.J. Pratt Library, after his death)
letter to Kildare Dobbs [note of thanks
(congratulations for Canada Council Medal)]
27 September 1961
letter to Margaret Furness MacLeod [note of
thanks (congratulations for Canada Council Medal)]
14 October 1961
attends 35-year reunion dinner at Faculty Club of Class of 1926; reads grace from "The Depression Ends" and "Like Mother, Like Daughter"
24 October 1961
letter to H. Pierson Gundy [Bliss Carman]
25 November 1961
has a fall; hurts his head, hand and foot
27 November 1961
death of Lorne Pierce
28 November 1961
John Gray visits to discuss possibility of an edition of The Roosevelt and the Antinoe for
Grade 13
30 November 1961
unable to attend memorial service for Lorne Pierce
22 December 1961
receives a telegram announcing the presentation of the Canada Council medals at dinner on 19
February in Ottawa
1962
letter to Vincent Sharman [comments
favourably on Sharman's interpretation of closing lines of The Roosevelt
and the Antinoe]
1 January 1962
spends quiet day with family; in the evening quotes "Dying Speech of an Old Philosopher" by
Walter Savage Landor:
I strove with none, for none was worth my strife;
Nature I loved, and, next to Nature, Art;
I warmed both hands before the fire of Life;
It sinks, and I am ready to depart.
13 January 1962
hesitates about attending Canada Council Awards dinner
7 February 1962
visit from Leonard Brockington, who convices him he should attend the Canada Council Awards
dinner
9 February 1962
his brother Calvert is concerned about his health and advises him against making the trip to
Ottawa
10 February 1962
decides Viola should to go the Canada Council Awards dinner in his place
16 February 1962
unable to attend dinner in his honour at Conference of the Arts at Victoria College; Viola goes
instead and accepts a gift on his behalf; Dennis Lee gives a talk on his work
17 February 1962
Canada Council Awards announced in the Toronto Globe and Mail
18 February 1962
Viola attends the Canda Council Awards dinner and accepts award on EJP's Behalf; citation by
Leonard Brockington
1 March 1962
receives a copy of the citation from Leonard Brockington
3 March 1962
lunch at the York Club with Leonard Brockington -- the first time he is out since 28 December
1961
7 March 1962
tapes readings for a school broadcast for the four western provinces, "Sea-Gulls," A
Feline Silhouette," "Erosion," parts of "The Cachalot" and The Roosevelt and the Antinoe, script
by Sally Creighton
17 April 1962
letter to Sr. Dorothy Marie Doyle [note of
thanks (letter)]
23 April 1962
interviewed by William French, Literary Editor of the Globe and Mail, in
preparation for a two-part essay entitled "The Master Poet"
goes out in evening and has a fainting episode
May 1962
publication in Atlantic Advocate, 52 (May 1962) of article on Canada Council
Award to EJP, including citation by Leonard Brockington and the following poems reprinted from
Collected Poems (1958):
"The Highway," "The Good Earth," "Erosion," "The
Decision," "Come Not the Seasons Here," "Comrades"
1 May 1962
second interview by William French
20 June 1962
visit by William French and photographer who takes photographs of EJP and of Viola
photograph of EJP and
Viola
photographs of EJP
3 August 1962
receives advance copies of the first installment of the article by William French from Leonard
Brockington; is very pleased
4 August 1962
first installment of "The Master Poet" appears in the Globe and Mail
11 August 1962
second part of "The Master Poet" appears in the Globe and Mail
15 August 1962
letter to John T. Stoker [signature for official
register for Memorial University convocation]
6 September 1962
tapes reminiscences of Pelham Edgar tape for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio
programme Wednesday Night
9 September 1962
feels ill and has difficulty walking -- the beginning of a decline, due to heart problems, from
which never fully recovers
15 November 1962
quoted in the cover story in The United Church Observer as expressing concern
with the obscurity of much of modern poetry
cover of The
United Church Observer
29 November 1962
school broadcast on EJP by J. Frank Willis
30 November 1962
begins to receive callers for the first time since falling ill on 9 September 1962
1963
publication of The
Titanic. Poems for Upper School (1963), 1-41
Winter 1963
letter to Jacob Markowitz [greetings and
encouragement]
1 January 1963
goes out for dinner for the first time in four months, and for the last time before his death
10 January 1963
letter to Father Murphy [thank you for birthday gift; friends in the Basilian order]
February 1963
letter to Douglas and Hazel Bush [note of
thanks (birthday greetings)]
letter to David G. Pitt [note of thanks
(birthday card)]
2 February 1963
receives sketches by Grade 4 students at Havergal College for "Frost" and accompanying birthday greetings
after 2 February 1963
letter to Grade 4 Students of Havergall
College [note of thanks (sketches and birthday greetings)]
6 February 1963
80th birthday tribute to EJP on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation arranged by Ronald Hambleton
7 February 1963
letter to Ronald Hambleton [appreciation for the birthday tribute on CBC]
10 February 1963
letter to Raymond Gushue [note of thanks
(birthday telegram)]
11 February 1963
letter to Leo Cox [Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation birthday broadcast]
13 March 1963
receives copy of Canadian Author and Bookman, containing article by William
Arthur Deacon, "Laureate Uncrowned: A Personal Study of E.J. Pratt," and with photograph of
EJP on cover
14 March 1963
letter to William Arthur Deacon [note of
thanks (Deacon's article "Laureate Uncrowned: A Personal Study of E.J. Pratt")]
Spring 1963
memorizes, with Viola's help, the opening lines of the third book of Paradise
Lost; has Viola read to him from favourite books, including a biography of Napoleon
and an account of Sir John Franklin's last expedition
28 April 1963
the Reverend John Morgan preaches a sermon on EJP's poetry at the Unitarian Church; Claire
brings home the text which Viola reads to EJP
4 May 1963
receives copy of Douglas Library Notes containing "Lament of the Wets", an
unpublished portion of The Witches'
Brew of which Queen's has the only extant copy
20 August 1923
reads The Witches' Brew at fifth
anniversary celebration at Bobcaygeon
15 June 1963
receives royalties cheque for Collected
Poems (1958); 564 copies sold in previous year
25 June 1963
Viola interviewed by Canadian Press re EJP
receives note from Norhrop Frye saying that he is dedicating Fables of
Identity to EJP
19 October 1963
brother Calvert suffers a stroke
20 October 1963
Northrop Frye visits with a copy of Fables of Identity
1 November 1963
receives royalties cheque for Ten Selected
Poems; 1035 copies sold
13 November 1963
death of brother Calvert in St. John's; is not informed of the death
15 December 1963
listens to Canadian Broadcast Corporation radio broadcast about the Titanic including
extracts from The Titanic
1964
29 February 1964
receives visit from Prime Minister Lester Pearson
March 1964
letter to Sr. Dorothy Marie Doyle [note of thanks (letter)]
12 April 1964
family decides he should be hospitalized because of cardiac and other complications; put on waiting list for Riverside Hospital
22 April 1964
admitted to Riverside Hospital
26 April 1964
heart stops 10:00 a.m.; pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m.; joking with nurses just before the end
28 April 1964
memorial service at University of Toronto Convocation Hall with full civic and academic
honours, with elegy composed and performed on the organ by Healey Willan and tribute by Victoria College President Dr. Arthur Moore
interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery
programme for the memorial
service
tribute by President Moore
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s