The Song Fishermen
Encyclopedia
The Song Fishermen, or the Song Fishermen's Circle (1928–1930), was an informal group of poets from Atlantic Canada
that included famous Canadian poets
Bliss Carman
and Sir Charles G.D. Roberts
.
home became "a favourite rendezvous for writers and artists." Historian Thomas Raddall described the group in his memoirs:
Other members of the set included Charles Bruce, James D. Gillis, and Joe Wallace. Besides road trips, the group organized recitals and lectures, produced broadsheets, and kept in contact with Maritime poets who had moved away from the region.
They published broadsheets and mimeographed Song Fishermen Songbooks which were distributed to fans across North America
, including a published memorial to Bliss Carman
after his death in 1929. Publishing was arranged by J.B. Livesay of Canadian Press
, (modernist poet Dorothy Livesay
's father). When that publishing outlet was closed in 1929, the Song Fishermen officially disbanded in September 1929 with a two-day celebration including poetry, reciting, piping
, Highland dancing, and a marine trip to East Dover, Nova Scotia
.
A short-lived attempt was made to revive the publishing arm of the group using Theodore Goodridge Roberts
's Acadie publishing facilities in Saint John in 1930.
In The Quest of the Folk, Ian McKay
discusses the anti-modernist tendencies of The Song Fishermen, who "combined Scottish romance with the cult of the fisherfolk." .
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
that included famous Canadian poets
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...
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....
and Sir Charles G.D. Roberts
Charles G.D. Roberts
Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts, was a Canadian poet and prose writer who is known as the Father of Canadian Poetry. He was "almost the first Canadian author to obtain worldwide reputation and influence; he was also a tireless promoter and encourager of Canadian literature......
.
History
The group was led by Andrew and Tully Merkel, whose Halifax, Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
home became "a favourite rendezvous for writers and artists." Historian Thomas Raddall described the group in his memoirs:
- In the mid-1920s some of the poets formed a sort of flying squad, calling themselves whimsically the Song Fisherman, including Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, Robert Norwood, Evelyn Tufts, Stewart MacAuley, Kenneth LeslieKenneth LeslieKenneth Leslie was a Canadian poet and songwriter, and an influential political activist in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. He was the founder and editor of The Protestant Digest , which had a peak circulation of over 50,000 subscribers...
, Ethel Butler and other lively spirits. . . . From time to time this group made sallies by car into the countryside or by sail along the coast, always on the spur of the moment, and staying a day or a week wherever they chose to alight.
Other members of the set included Charles Bruce, James D. Gillis, and Joe Wallace. Besides road trips, the group organized recitals and lectures, produced broadsheets, and kept in contact with Maritime poets who had moved away from the region.
They published broadsheets and mimeographed Song Fishermen Songbooks which were distributed to fans across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, including a published memorial to 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....
after his death in 1929. Publishing was arranged by J.B. Livesay of Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
, (modernist poet Dorothy Livesay
Dorothy Livesay
Dorothy Kathleen May Livesay, was a Canadian poet who twice won the Governor General`s Award in the 1940s, and was "senior woman writer in Canada" during the 1970s and 1980s.-Life:...
's father). When that publishing outlet was closed in 1929, the Song Fishermen officially disbanded in September 1929 with a two-day celebration including poetry, reciting, piping
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, Highland dancing, and a marine trip to East Dover, Nova Scotia
East Dover, Nova Scotia
East Dover is a community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on the Chebucto Peninsula ....
.
A short-lived attempt was made to revive the publishing arm of the group using Theodore Goodridge Roberts
Theodore Goodridge Roberts
Theodore Goodridge Roberts was a Canadian novelist and poet. He was the author of thirty-four novels and over one hundred published stories and poems.He was the brother of poet Charles G.D...
's Acadie publishing facilities in Saint John in 1930.
In The Quest of the Folk, Ian McKay
Ian McKay (historian)
Ian McKay is a Canadian historian at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, where he has taught since 1988. His primary interests are Canadian cultural and political history; the economic and social history of Atlantic Canada, especially Nova Scotia, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; and...
discusses the anti-modernist tendencies of The Song Fishermen, who "combined Scottish romance with the cult of the fisherfolk." .