Canadian war poets published in Great Britain published lit

[John Gilinsky]

Hello all! I am hard at work on my Bio-Bibliography of Canadian War Poetry and Poets 1914 - 1919. I am asking ANY GWF member and ANYONE who consults or views this particular topic thread to contact me either through the GWF or directly regarding out of the way, obscure Canadian poets (that is first and foremost ANYONE, male or female who was at any time serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force the C.E.F. at ANY time during 1914 to 1919 inclusively) who had ANY of their poetry published in strictly British published publications. I am concentrating rightly on Canadian published and/or controlled publications for now but I know that a fair number of such CEF members must have published war poetry in exclusively British printed/published periodicals, newspapers, yearbooks, school newsletters, local histories, and the like. For example, some of the first large waves of CEF enlistees during 1914 - 1915 (1st and 2nd. Contingents, CEF) ended up once they got to Great Britain in transferring successfully to the British Army or B.E.F.

1) CEF members who initially joined or enlisted into the CEF but later were transferred to or were sent to BEF units 1914 - 1919 and published in British publications including of course British "trench journals" / unit magazines, etc....

2) Canadians generally whether related or not to the above, living in the United Kingdom during 1914 to 1919 inclusively who published war or war related poetry to the war in British publications

3) Relatives of CEF members living in the United Kingdom during 1914 to 1919 who published war or war related poems during 1914 to 1919 in British publications

4) Returned soldiers, veterans who at ANY time during 1914 - 1919 served in or under (or with!) the CEF and published in British publications CEF related poetry

5) ANYONE living in Great Britain or ANYWHERE else for that matter BUT NOT in Canada during 1914 - 1919 who had published in Great Britain especially CEF and/or Canadian related war poetry

POST - 1919 poetry especially 1919 to 1946 are of great interest as well but for now I am focusing on the 1914 - 1919 period.

Thank you,

John Gilinsky

Toronto

[seaJane]

John,

This is only a trail left behind by a manuscript of poems, but it is also the only relevant item I could discover in the IWM books catalogue. Hope you may be able to track down the original somehow: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/publication/62349

Best regards

sJ

PS I have had a look at digitisations of Songs of the Fighting Men and More Songs of the Fighting Men but no Canadians as far as I can see.

[seaJane]

Hope this link works, I will collate the records if not:

http://copac.ac.uk/search?&keyword=canadian+poetry+world+war+1914-1918&sort-order=ti%2C-date

[John Gilinsky]

Thanks Jane. I am trying to do an academic bibliography so that anyone academic or otherwise can get accurate and as comprehensive coverage as I can reasonably make a bibliography considering the overwhelming ephemeral publication nature (local and regional newspapers, trench journals, etc...). I am very excited because this work will stimulate all kinds of further very diverse research themes and topics. Keep em' coming. Part of the problem is identifying or establishing reasonably who is Canadian and who is British! I am also secondarily also interested in mss materials but will most likely only briefly if that note such materials (and I may not include such mss poems though of course hands down that is how in addition to oral communication these poems were produced).

John

[seaJane]

John,

Might possibly be worth contacting Rhodes House Library in Oxford http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/page/library in case they have anything by or on any Canadian Rhodes Scholars who fought in the GW.

Sorry to keep having all these ideas one after the other instead of in one tidy post!

sJ

[John Gilinsky]

Thanks SJ. Continuing hard at work researching. Rough outline, bibliography of bibliographies, etc...

John

[bobpike]

John,

Is this known to you?
Bob

THE GIRLS OF OUR VILLAGE

SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE

LOUISE is something of a dear,

Her smile is sweet, her voice is clear,

And she's a swell at pouring beer.

I'd rather pay Louise three sous,

Than drink the other girls' at two !

Julie will stand behind your chair

And run her fingers through your hair,

And say nice things of Angleterre.

One thing I do not like in Julie,

Just squeeze her, and she gets unruly !

Germaine's a sympathetic wench,

She knits beside you on a bench,

And says you speak delightful French.

The one great fault about Germaine

Is that she fibs now and again.

Mathilde's a mercenary maid,

She sells you eggs, and not new-laid,

And seems quite anxious till she's paid.

The main objection to Mathilde

Lies in her somewhat heavy build.

Diane my washing does for me,

And at a very mod'rate fee—

And sews on all the buttons free.

Oh if Diane could wash a shirt

One half as well as she can flirt !

I look up Marie now and then,

Especially on Sundays when

She sells La Vie Parisienne.

Marie's good-looking and demure,

But, Lord, she needs a manicure !

Jeannette sells imitation lace,

I think she has the plainest face

Of any lady in the place.

Tho' beauty isn't Jeannette's forte

We know her for a real good sort.

If you would manger quelque chose,

Just take my tip and look up Rose,

Her cooking does not indispose.

A pity Rose is so flat-footed,

One likes a woman neatly booted !

Dear little Margot in her store

Sells views and picture-cards galore ;

You go there once—you'll go encore !

When Margot smiles and murmurs "Tanks,"

You can’t regret you've spent five francs !

Helene's the daughter of the Maire,

She has a rather haughty air,

As if a cuss she did not care.

When Helene condescends to wink

It makes a fellow pause and think !

What takes the boys to Antoinette's

Is not the value that one gets

In chocolate or cigarettes.

When Antoinette's attired for Church

She leaves all others in the lurch.

When I feel like a few sardines

I always get them at Delphine's,

Not at the E.F.C Canteens.

And so would you, if, with each tin,

She threw a kiss and coffee in !

Down at Charlotte's Estaminet

The Vin Blanc's very good they say,

But then the beer's the other way !

That bad complexion of Charlotte's

Is her weak spot, or rather spots !

R M EASSIE

Canadian Expeditionary Force

[John Gilinsky]

Yes it is available online in his 1917 published book of war poems here:

http://archive.org/stream/odestotriflesoth00eass#page/78/mode/2up

pages 79 to 83 inclusively.

Thank you though for submitting this interesting poem!

John

[bobpike]

1. TO THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT

BY

G. M. FAIRCHILD

2. IN PROPHECY

(A Recessional)

and

SONNETS of THE EUROPEAN WAR

by

Alfred Gordon

IN PROPHECY

MENE, MENE; TEKEL, UPHARSIN

LE CHAMP DE MARS

A "SCRAP OF PAPER"

THE ANCIENT GAME

WATERLOO - 1914

THE SACRIFICE

"AND THERE WAS NO MORE SEA"

A FALLEN LEADER

3.The Maple Grove And Other Poems

By

Melita Aitken

War related poems

The Out-Going

The Result .

Husband O’ Mine

Requiem

Teddy .

When Love is Done

Sadness

Peace .

Man O' War .

Britons Arise !

[John Gilinsky]

Thank you Bob. I have sent you a PM.

John

[bobpike]

1. Canadian Poems of the Great War

Chosen and Edited by

John W. Garvin

McClelland & Stewart

2. ELEGY of RICHMOND AND OTHER POEMS

By D. M. MATHESON

EX-PRINCIPAL ALEXANDER McKAY SCHOOL HALIFAX. N. S.

3. THE MAILED FIST

Albert D Watson.

4. WAR TIME POEMS AND HEART SONGS

by

ISABELLA B. WATSON

TORONTO

WILLIAM BRIGGS 1918

5. POEMS

By D. M. MATHESON

ex- PRINCIPAL ALEXANDER McKAY SCHOOL

HALIFAX. N. S.

6. SONGS OF THE PRAIRIE AND THE C.E.F.

By STANLEY HARRISON

(Ex. Canadian Exped. Force)

LONDON, W.C.

ERSKINE MACDONALD, LTD.

TORONTO

McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart Ltd.

7. CLEARED FOR ACTION

By

HOWARD STEELE

LONDON; T. FISHER UNWIN

I ADELPHI TERRACE W.C.

8. RECITATIONS

RECITATIONS that have been written by an Old-Timer with deep thought. Almost all of them are patriotic, in sympathy with the Allied Nations at war. Children will enjoy reading them and will have lots of fun. Fathers and mothers will laugh at some and feel proud at others.

Dear reader, you will find as you read that it is all true. It also explains about the horrors of war andvwhat your boy or your neighbor's boy may have to stand and suffer. It explains the feelings the boys in the trenches have for their "Home, Sweet Home."

Recitations which take well on public platforms. Ones which Father and Mother will never forget.

Composed and written by

J. J. CONN.

In the year, 1917

9. THE ROAD TO ARRAS

by

EDGAR W. McINNIS

Irwin Printing Co. Ltd.

Charlottetown

A few more, John,

[John Gilinsky]

Thanks Bob for these other references. Again I will contact you directly and/or via GWF.

John

[John Gilinsky]

I will be making a frontal assault on disentangling data mined from poems in order to establish who qualified for inclusion as a Canadian war poet in my forthcoming work. This includes paramountly, though by no means exclusively British and American poets. For example A British immigrant to Canada who enlisted in the CEF but was returned to Canada and then enlisted into the AEF but still lived in Canada but published his / her poetry in the USA or an American publication related though to his CEF service times. You can easily see the myriad examples of complications. Naturally the mother lode of offshore published Canadian war related and/or CEF related poetry lies with British newspaper and periodical publications. Can ANYONE in Great Britain who has accesses to, has indexed, or even just researched or worked with some of these no matter how local, provincial, specialized [ e.g. a war munitions factory newsletter or employee's bulletin with some Canadian related material published that was "original" to the locale(s) ] PLEASE contact me? Thanks so much,

John

[seaJane]

Think everyone must have been contacting you like mad, John, it would appear that your mailbox is full!

I can offer the Times Digital Archive.

sJ

[John Gilinsky]

Ditto SeaJane your box is also full - undoubtedly all the best wishes that those you have helped in the past for 2014!

Do you have my direct personal email? Please try to find it via Google.ca and let me know if you cannot.

Tx,

John

[seaJane]

Hi John

I've cleared some space I hope...

sJ

[John Gilinsky]

Hello all. If anyone has any more especially obscure, buried, localized only, self-published, privately published, commemorative, memorial, unit based printed / produced, family only for private circulation type of Canadian War related verse/poetry from August 1914 to date but especially August 1914 to c. 1950 can you please either post the bibliographical (and if possible any known biographical references/documentation) here or email me directly?

Thanks,

John Gilinsky

Toronto

P.S. Check out my FB page for poetry generally.