Claire Pratt
Encyclopedia
Mildred Claire Pratt, was a Canadian artist
, poet
and editor
who published as Claire Pratt. She was the daughter of Viola Whitney (a writer and editor of the magazine World Friends) and E.J. Pratt, a noted poet and educator. At the age of four Claire contracted polio and subsequently developed osteomyelitis
, an inflammatory disease of the bone, which affected her for most of her life.
She graduated in English
and Philosophy
from Victoria College
, University of Toronto
and was awarded a gold medal. After studying international relations
at Columbia University
, and art at the Boston Museum of Fine Art and elsewhere, she worked as an editor for Macmillan Canada, the University of Toronto Press
, and Harvard University Press
. From 1956-1965 she was senior editor at McClelland & Stewart.
In 1965, ill health forced her to retire but she continued to do free-lance work with McClelland and Stewart, Oxford University Press
, Press Porcepic, and Consolidated Amethyst. She studied art periodically in Toronto
at the Doon School of Art, and in Massachusetts
at the Boston Museum of Fine Art.
In 1971 she published Silent Ancestors, a genealogical essay subtitled "The Forebears of E.J. Pratt," a tribute to the descendants of the Pratt family who immigrated to Newfoundland from Yorkshire.
As an artist Claire preferred working with woodcut
s. Her graphic art was exhibited in shows across Canada
, in the United States
and in Europe
.
Her interest in Japanese graphics
led her to the Japanese poetic
form haiku
, and her work was published in various poetry magazines and books. Claire often illustrated her haiku.
Claire's work was also stimulated by her father's poetry. Many of her Christmas cards featured excerpts from his poems, while other works explored the themes and imagery of E.J. Pratt's work.
Claire Pratt died in 1995.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
who published as Claire Pratt. She was the daughter of Viola Whitney (a writer and editor of the magazine World Friends) and E.J. Pratt, a noted poet and educator. At the age of four Claire contracted polio and subsequently developed osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis simply means an infection of the bone or bone marrow...
, an inflammatory disease of the bone, which affected her for most of her life.
She graduated in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from Victoria College
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Victoria University is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1836 and named for Queen Victoria. It is commonly called Victoria College, informally Vic, after the original academic component that now forms its undergraduate division...
, University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and was awarded a gold medal. After studying international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and art at the Boston Museum of Fine Art and elsewhere, she worked as an editor for Macmillan Canada, the University of Toronto Press
University of Toronto Press
University 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....
, and Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
. From 1956-1965 she was senior editor at McClelland & Stewart.
In 1965, ill health forced her to retire but she continued to do free-lance work with McClelland and Stewart, Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford 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...
, Press Porcepic, and Consolidated Amethyst. She studied art periodically in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
at the Doon School of Art, and in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
at the Boston Museum of Fine Art.
In 1971 she published Silent Ancestors, a genealogical essay subtitled "The Forebears of E.J. Pratt," a tribute to the descendants of the Pratt family who immigrated to Newfoundland from Yorkshire.
As an artist Claire preferred working with woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s. Her graphic art was exhibited in shows across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Her interest in Japanese graphics
Japanese art
Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga, cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art...
led her to the Japanese poetic
Japanese poetry
Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...
form haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
, and her work was published in various poetry magazines and books. Claire often illustrated her haiku.
Claire's work was also stimulated by her father's poetry. Many of her Christmas cards featured excerpts from his poems, while other works explored the themes and imagery of E.J. Pratt's work.
Claire Pratt died in 1995.
External links
- The Mildred Claire Pratt fonds at the Victoria University Library at the University of Toronto that consists of records associated with Claire Pratt's career as writer and artist, in addition to family records.
- Institute of Arts and Humanities page on Claire Pratt