E. K. Brown
Encyclopedia
Edward Killoran Brown who wrote as E.K. Brown, was a Canadian
professor and literary critic. He "influenced Canadian literature
primarily through his award-winning book On Canadian Poetry
(1943)," which "established the standards of excellence and many of the subsequent directions of Canadian criticism." Northrop Frye
called him "the first critic to bring Canadian literature
into its proper context".
.
Brown taught at the University of Toronto
from 1929 through 1941, except for two years chairing the University of Manitoba
's English Department. He was an associate editor of the Canadian Forum
from 1930 to 1933, and published over 50 articles in that journal.
Between 1932 and 1941 Brown was an editor of the University of Toronto Quarterly. In 1936 he began the column "Letters in Canada", an annual survey in the Quarterly of the year's crop of Canadian poetry. He left the University of Toronto in 1941 to take a position at Cornell University
, but he continued to write "Letters in Canada" each year until 1950, at which time the column was taken over by Northrop Frye. Brown later used two of his "Letters in Canada" essays – "The Contemporary Situation in Canadian Literature" (1938) and "The Development of Canadian Poetry 1880-1940" (1941) – in his 1943 book, On Canadian Poetry.
In 1941 Brown edited a special all-Canadian issue of prestigious Chicago
magazine Poetry
.
From 1941 to 1944 Brown chaired Cornell University
's English Department, except for six months on staff as a speechwriter to Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
.
In 1943 Brown and Duncan Campbell Scott
edited Archibald Lampman
's posthumous volume, At the Long Sault and Other Poems. Brown would also edit Scott's posthumous Selected Poems in 1951.
In 1945 Brown moved to the University of Chicago
to chair its English Department. From 1947 to 1951 he wrote a column, "Causeries," for the Winnipeg Free Press
in which he published almost 50 essays on literary topics. He died in 1951 of cancer
.
, D.C. Scott
and E.J. Pratt), tracing their influences and closely defining the strengths of their verse."
Prior to the appearance of On Canadian Poetry, Sir Charles G.D. Roberts was widely considered Canada's top poet (and certainly its top Confederation Poet
), followed by his cousin, Bliss Carman
. Not long before the volume came out, Brown had written to Duncan Campbell Scott that "our literary history must be rewritten and some old landmarks removed." In the book he removed several forthwith. Roberts received a mere four pages, and was praised mainly as a "breaker of trails". Carman received even less space; Brown saluted "the beauty of his music," but added that his poetry "as a whole is cloying." Of the other Confederation Poets, William Wilfred Campbell
was cursorily dismissed as a "minor figure," while F.G. Scott
and Pauline Johnson
were not mentioned at all. In contrast, Brown devoted an entire chapter each to Lampman and D.C. Scott, building his own 'landmarks.'
Brown's revisionist ranking of the Confederation Poets
– Lampman and Campbell Scott on top, Roberts and Carman underneath, and Wilfred Campbell, Johnson, and F.G. Scott not even counted – "would become widely accepted and go unchallenged for several decades.
for On Canadian Poetry.
The Royal Society of Canada
awarded E.K. Brown its Lorne Pierce Medal
posthumously.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy Open Library.
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...
professor and literary critic. He "influenced Canadian literature
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
primarily through his award-winning book On Canadian Poetry
Canadian poetry
- Beginnings:The earliest works of poetry, mainly written by visitors, described the new territories in optimistic terms, mainly targeted at a European audience...
(1943)," which "established the standards of excellence and many of the subsequent directions of Canadian criticism." Northrop Frye
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
called him "the first critic to bring Canadian literature
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
into its proper context".
Life
E.K. Brown was born in Toronto, the son of Winifred Killoran and Edward David Brown, a businessman. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1926, winning the Governor-General's Medal for Modern Languages and a scholarship to the SorbonneSorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
.
Brown taught at the 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...
from 1929 through 1941, except for two years chairing the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
's English Department. He was an associate editor of the Canadian Forum
Canadian Forum
The Canadian Forum was a left-wing literary, cultural and political publication and Canada's longest running continually published political magazine.It was founded in 1920 at the University of Toronto as a forum for political and cultural ideas...
from 1930 to 1933, and published over 50 articles in that journal.
Between 1932 and 1941 Brown was an editor of the University of Toronto Quarterly. In 1936 he began the column "Letters in Canada", an annual survey in the Quarterly of the year's crop of Canadian poetry. He left the University of Toronto in 1941 to take a position at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, but he continued to write "Letters in Canada" each year until 1950, at which time the column was taken over by Northrop Frye. Brown later used two of his "Letters in Canada" essays – "The Contemporary Situation in Canadian Literature" (1938) and "The Development of Canadian Poetry 1880-1940" (1941) – in his 1943 book, On Canadian Poetry.
In 1941 Brown edited a special all-Canadian issue of prestigious Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
magazine Poetry
Poetry (magazine)
Poetry , published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Published by the Poetry Foundation and currently edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately...
.
From 1941 to 1944 Brown chaired Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
's English Department, except for six months on staff as a speechwriter to Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
.
In 1943 Brown and Duncan Campbell Scott
Duncan Campbell Scott
Duncan Campbell Scott was a Canadian poet and prose writer. With Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Archibald Lampman, he is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets....
edited Archibald Lampman
Archibald Lampman
Archibald Lampman, was a Canadian poet. "He has been described as 'the Canadian Keats;' and he is perhaps the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets." The Canadian Encyclopedia says that he is "generally considered the finest of Canada's late 19th-century poets in...
's posthumous volume, At the Long Sault and Other Poems. Brown would also edit Scott's posthumous Selected Poems in 1951.
In 1945 Brown moved to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
to chair its English Department. From 1947 to 1951 he wrote a column, "Causeries," for the Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
in which he published almost 50 essays on literary topics. He died in 1951 of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
On Canadian Poetry
Brown is best remembered for his 1943 book, On Canadian Poetry. Of that book, the Canadian Encyclopedia says that "Brown was the first modern Canadian critic to establish a context for the study of 19th- and 20th-century Canadian poetry by identifying Canada's major poets (Archibald LampmanArchibald Lampman
Archibald Lampman, was a Canadian poet. "He has been described as 'the Canadian Keats;' and he is perhaps the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets." The Canadian Encyclopedia says that he is "generally considered the finest of Canada's late 19th-century poets in...
, D.C. Scott
Duncan Campbell Scott
Duncan Campbell Scott was a Canadian poet and prose writer. With Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Archibald Lampman, he is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets....
and E.J. Pratt), tracing their influences and closely defining the strengths of their verse."
Prior to the appearance of On Canadian Poetry, Sir Charles G.D. Roberts was widely considered Canada's top poet (and certainly its top Confederation Poet
Confederation Poets
"Confederation Poets" is the name given to a group of Canadian poets born in the decade of Canada's Confederation who rose to prominence in Canada in the late 1880s and 1890s. The term was coined by Canadian professor and literary critic Malcolm Ross, who applied it to four poets Charles G.D...
), followed by his cousin, Bliss Carman
Bliss Carman
Bliss Carman FRSC was a Canadian poet who lived most of his life in the United States, where he achieved international fame. He was acclaimed as Canada's poet laureate during his later years....
. Not long before the volume came out, Brown had written to Duncan Campbell Scott that "our literary history must be rewritten and some old landmarks removed." In the book he removed several forthwith. Roberts received a mere four pages, and was praised mainly as a "breaker of trails". Carman received even less space; Brown saluted "the beauty of his music," but added that his poetry "as a whole is cloying." Of the other Confederation Poets, William Wilfred Campbell
William Wilfred Campbell
William Wilfred Campbell was a Canadian poet. He is often classed as one of the country's Confederation Poets, a group that included fellow Canadians Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, Archibald Lampman, and Duncan Campbell Scott; he was a colleague of Lampman and Scott...
was cursorily dismissed as a "minor figure," while F.G. Scott
Frederick George Scott
Frederick George Scott was a Canadian poet and author, known as the Poet of the Laurentians. He is sometimes associated with Canada's Confederation Poets, a group that included Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, Archibald Lampman, and Duncan Campbell Scott. Scott published 13 books of Christian...
and Pauline Johnson
Pauline Johnson
Emily Pauline Johnson , commonly known as E. Pauline Johnson or just Pauline Johnson, was a Canadian writer and performer popular in the late 19th century...
were not mentioned at all. In contrast, Brown devoted an entire chapter each to Lampman and D.C. Scott, building his own 'landmarks.'
Brown's revisionist ranking of the Confederation Poets
Confederation Poets
"Confederation Poets" is the name given to a group of Canadian poets born in the decade of Canada's Confederation who rose to prominence in Canada in the late 1880s and 1890s. The term was coined by Canadian professor and literary critic Malcolm Ross, who applied it to four poets Charles G.D...
– Lampman and Campbell Scott on top, Roberts and Carman underneath, and Wilfred Campbell, Johnson, and F.G. Scott not even counted – "would become widely accepted and go unchallenged for several decades.
Recognition
Brown received a Governor General's Award for non-fiction in 19431943 Governor General's Awards
In Canada the 1943 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were the seventh such awards. The awards in this period had no monetary prize and were just an honour for the authors.-Winners:...
for On Canadian Poetry.
The Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
awarded E.K. Brown its Lorne Pierce Medal
Lorne Pierce Medal
The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Canada to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature written in either English or French...
posthumously.
Non-fiction
- E.M. Forster and the contemplative novel. Toronto, 1934.
- Edith Wharton, étude critique. Paris: E. Droz, 1935.
- Studies in the Text of Matthew Arnold's Prose Works. Paris: P. André, 1935.
- Swinburne: a centennial estimate. Toronto: 1937.
- On Canadian Poetry. Toronto: Ryerson, 1943.
- Matthew Arnold: A Study in Conflict. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1948.
- Rhythm in the Novel. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1950. Lincoln, NB: U of Nebraska P, 1978. ISBN 0803211503 ISBN 0803260504
- Willa Cather: A Critical Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953.
- Responses and Evaluations: Essays on Canada. David Staines ed. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart (New Canadian Library), 1977. ISBN 0771092520
- The Poet and the Critic: A Literary Correspondence Between D.C. Scott and E.K. Brown. Robert L. McCougall ed. McGill-Queen's U P, 1983. ISBN 0886290139 ISBN 0886290112
Translated
- Louis Cazamian, Carlyle. New York: Macmillan, 1932.
- Balzac, "Père Goriot". Père Goriot and Eugénie Grandet. New York: Modern Library, 1946.
Edited
- Matthew Arnold, Representative Essays. Toronto: Macmillan, 1936.
- Victorian Poetry.. Toronto: Nelson, 1942.
- Archibald Lampman, At the Long Sault and Other New Poems, Duncan Campbell Scott and E.K. Brown ed.. (Toronto: Ryerson, 19431943 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* September 12 – Abraham Sutzkever, a Polish Jew writing poetry in Yiddish, escapes the Vilna Ghetto with his wife and hides in the forests. Sutzkever and fellow Yiddish poet Shmerke...
). - Matthew Arnold, Four Essays on Life and Letters. Harlan Davidson, 1947. ISBN 9780882950068
- Charles Dickens David Copperfield. 1950.
- Duncan Campbell Scott, Selected Poems, E.K. Brown. ed. Toronto: Ryerson, 19511951 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Poet Cid Corman began Origin magazine in response to the failure of a magazine that Robert Creeley had planned. The magazine typically featured one writer per issue and ran, with breaks, until the...
.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy Open Library.
External links
- E.K. Brown in The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...