Wilson MacDonald

Wilson Pugsley MacDonald (May 5, 1880 – April 8, 1967) was a popular Canadian poet who "was known mainly in his own time for his considerable platform abilities" as a reader of his poetry. By reading fees, and by selling his books at readings, he was able to make a living from his poetry alone. In the 1920s he was so popular that, according to writer John Robert Colombo, "his fame eclipsed that of Robert Service and Pauline Johnson."

Life

Wilson MacDonald was born in Cheapside, now part of the city of Haldimand, Ontario. He attended McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and graduated in 1902. He began publishing poetry in the Toronto Globe in 1899, while still a student.

Writing In a 1933 talk on "Canadian Poetry in its Relation to The Poetry of England and America", Charles G. D. Roberts singled out MacDonald as one of three postwar poets representative of modern trends. Roberts said of him: "Wilson MacDonald is purely a lyricist, with a very wide range of form and theme. His best work is forged in the white heat of emotion and is always definitely stamped with his own personality. It is primarily subjective. In his shorter, personal lyrics, such as 'Exit,' he achieves at times an unforgettable poignancy. In his passionately humanitarian poems he is modem in spirit, but in form he is distinctly classical." (Italics in original.)

The Encyclopedia of Literature praised technical aspects of MacDonald's poetry "The poems are invariably well balanced because of his musical interest; parts of stanzas are repeated for emphasis and direction — as major melodies in music would be — with other lines juxtaposed to heighten the emotional effect."

Fetherling was frankly dismissive: "It is surprising the extent to which MacDonald was often taken seriously as an artist and equally surprising that genuine poems or hints of them can sometimes be discovered in his collections by those willing to wade through his vapid romanticism and pre-modernist conventions." Dedicated "to preserving the history of rural education, the heritage of the surrounding community, and the memory of poet Wilson Pugsley MacDonald", the museum "allows students to experience a typical day in a 1925 one-room rural school. Costumes, role playing, lessons and games help modern youngsters learn about their heritage and the history of education. The day-long programme is especially tailored to the school curriculum."

Publications

Poetry The Song Of The Prairie Land and Other Poems. Albert E. S. Smythe intr., Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1918.

Misc. Wilson MacDonald's Western Tour, 1923–24: a collage of letters (to, from and about Wilson MacDonald), newspaper clippings, poems, drawings and miscellaneous MacDonaldiana assembled by Stan Dragland. Toronto: Coach House, 1975.