E.J. Pratt: Canada's National Poet

Newfoundland Verse

Newfoundland Verse was published on April 2, 1923 by Ryerson Press. Lorne Pierce (1890–1961), emerging as an influential book editor in Canadian publishing, encouraged Pratt to refine his poetic voice and style. Pierce was responsible for the selection of the poems included in the collection: "The Ground Swell," "The Shark," "The Fog," "The Drowning," "Newfoundland," and "Come Not the Seasons Here." They are recognized as some of the finest verses among Pratt's poems. 

The book is illustrated with decorations by Frederick Horsman Varley (1881–1969), a painter and a member of the Group of Seven. Pratt guided Varley in the style of the illustrations.

Pratt, E. J. (Edwin John), 1882–1964

E.J. Pratt

Ryerson Press

1923

Varley, Frederick Horsman, 1881–1969

PR6031 .R3 N4

The Iron Door: An Ode

The Iron Door is a poem about the death of Pratt's mother, Fanny Knight Pratt in 1926. The poet composed it to obtain "some relief to my bewilderment" he experienced following her passing, and to explore his feelings on the nature of immortality. 

Lorne Pierce (1890–1961), the editor at Ryerson Press assisted Pratt with the composition of two important stanzas in the poem. Pierce's influence on Pratt's life and work also extended to the realm of friendship. As former Methodist clergymen, both men struggled with religious doubt and held a series of conversation on the nature of religious beliefs. 

The book is decorated with illustrations by Thoreau MacDonald (1901–1989), a painter, illustrator, and designer.

Pratt, E. J. (Edwin John), 1882–1964

E.J. Pratt

Macmillan Company of Canada Limited

1927

MacDonald, Thoreau, 1901–1989, illustrator

PR6031 .R3 I7 1927

Collected Poems

Pratt served as his own editor in selecting the verses published as Collected Poems. The collection comprises his long poems, including "The Witches' Brew" and "Dunkirk." Pratt decided to omit the short poems, especially the works published in Newfoundland Verse (Ryerson Press, 1923, his second book of poetry), judging them as appearing "somewhat immature" in retrospective.  

This copy contains a long inscription by the poets on the front endpaper.

Pratt, E. J. (Edwin John), 1882–1964

E.J. Pratt

Macmillan Company of Canada Limited

1944

Public domain

PR6031 .R3 A17 1944

Towards the Last Spike: A Verse-Panorama of the Struggle to Build the First Canadian Transcontinental from the Time of the Proposed Terms of Union with British Columbia, 1870, to the Hammering of the Last Spike in the Eagle Pass, 1885

Towards the Last Spike chronicles the political debates and the five-year effort to construct a transcontinental line, the Canadian Pacific Railway. Prior to composing any poem, Pratt immersed himself in research. While studying the historical and political context of the CPR project, he concluded that it was not only a technological accomplishment, but political one as well: "I've come to a conclusion that the C.P.R. was built not so much by the chaps who did the technical and physical work, indispensable as they were, but by fellows with the gift of the gab, the talkers, and the wranglers and the argufiers... In the beginning was the Word—and so to the end, to the last spike." The book received the Governor General’s Award in 1952. 

The poems depicts the construction of the railway as a force for national unity. The "last spike" was the final railway spike driven at the end of the CPR line by Donald Smith, the company president, on November 7, 1885, marking the end of its completion. Although a small, unpretentious ceremony was held commemorate the event, the last spike symbolizes the realization of national unity within the Dominion of Canada, linked from coast to coast.

Pratt, E. J. (Edwin John), 1882–1964

E.J. Pratt

Macmillan Company of Canada Limited

1952

Canadian Pacific Railway Company—Poetry

PR6031 .R3 T6