ccundell

Ryerson Press published E. J. Pratt’s first Canadian book of poetry because its editor, Lorne Pierce, saw promise in Pratt’s work. Although the press dropped Pratt because his second offering of poetry was deemed inappropriate, the life-long correspondence between the two men reveals Pratt’s importance to the Canadian literary legacy that Pierce nurtured and helped produce.

Dorothy Livesay’s works speak to the variety of periodicals and publishers that offer poetry to the Canadian public. Her documentary long poem, “Call My People Home,” is an excellent example of this diversity: it was published in both the poetry journal Contemporary Verse and as part of the Ryerson Poetry Chapbook series, and was also aired as a radio production by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). This study includes an audio recording of Livesay reading from "Call My People Home".