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Milton James Rhode Acorn (March 30, 1923 – August 20, 1986), nicknamed The People's Poet by his peers,[1] was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright.[2][3][4]

Milton Acorn
Born
Milton James Rhode Acorn

March 30, 1923
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
DiedAugust 20, 1986(1986-08-20) (aged 63)
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Other namesThe People's Poet
OccupationPoet, writer, playwright
Spouse(s)Gwendolyn MacEwen (1962–1964; divorced)

Early life


He was born in Prince Edward Island, and grew up in Charlottetown. He joined the armed forces during World War II at the age of eighteen.[5]


Career


During World War II, on a trans-Atlantic crossing, Acorn suffered a wound from depth charges. The wound was severe enough for him to receive a disability pension from Veterans Affairs for most of his life. He returned to Prince Edward Island and moved to Montreal, Quebec in 1956 and was for a time a member of the Labor-Progressive Party. He spent several years living at the Hotel Waverly in Toronto, Ontario.[6]

In Montreal, he published some of his early poems in the political magazine, New Frontiers.[7] In 1956 he self-published a mimeographed chapbook, In Love and Anger, his first collection of poems.[8] In the 1950s some of his poetry was published in the magazine Canadian Forum.[9]

He was for a short time married to poet Gwendolyn MacEwen.[10][11]

In the mid-1960s, he moved to Vancouver and joined the League for Socialist Action.[12] In 1967, Acorn helped found the "underground" newspaper The Georgia Straight in Vancouver, BC.[13] In 1969 he published his poetry collection I've Tasted My Blood.[14]

Acorn was awarded the Canadian Poets Award in 1970 and the Governor General's Award in 1976 for his collection of poems, The Island Means Minago.[15][16] In 1977, Acorn introduced the Jackpine sonnet, a form designed to be as irregular and spikey (and Canadian) as a jack pine tree, but with internal structure and integrity. Without a fixed number of lines and with varied line lengths, the Jackpine sonnet depends on interweaving internal rhymes, assonance and occasional end-rhymes.[17]

In July 1986, he suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital. Acorn died in his home town of Charlottetown on August 20, 1986, due to complications associated with his heart condition and diabetes. According to fellow poet and friend Jim Deahl, he had "lost his will to live after the death of a younger sister."[15]


Milton Acorn People's Poetry Award


In 1987, the Milton Acorn People's Poetry Award was established in his memory by Ted Plantos. It is presented annually to an outstanding "people's poet." The award was initially[18] $250 (since raised to $500) and a medallion, modelled after the one given to Milton Acorn.


Acorn on film


In 1971 Acorn was the subject of a documentary, Milton Acorn: The People’s Poet, which was aired on the CBC program Thirty Minutes.[19] The National Film Board of Canada produced two films on Acorn's life and works. The first is entitled In Love and Anger: Milton Acorn - Poet, and came out in 1984. The second is called A Wake for Milton. It was produced in 1988.


Bibliography



Posthumous collections



Anthologies



Discography



Literary awards



See also



References


  1. Joan Givner. "Book Review: Milton Acorn: In Love and Anger by Richard Lemm". Quill & Quire,
  2. Ed Jewinski (1991). Milton Acorn and His Works. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-062-9.
  3. Works and Days. Vol. 20. Department of English, Eastern Illinois University. 2002. pp. 113–114.
  4. William H. New (1986). Canadian Writers Since 1960, First Series. Gale Research Company. pp. 3–8. ISBN 978-0-8103-1731-4.
  5. Elizabeth Waterston (December 2003). Rapt in Plaid: Canadian Literature and Scottish Tradition. University of Toronto Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8020-8685-3.
  6. Robinson, Fraser; Szende, Josef (2009). "Spadina iTour". Heritage Toronto. Archived from the original on 2009-05-15.
  7. Chris Gudgeon (1996). Out of this world: the natural history of Milton Acorn. Arsenal Pulp Press. p. 174. ISBN 9781551520308.
  8. "Milton Acorn's "I've Tasted My Blood"". Clarion-Journal, February 1. 2010. by Ron Dart
  9. George Bowering (2005). Left Hook: A Sideways Look at Canadian Writing. Raincoast Books. pp. 223–. ISBN 978-1-55192-845-6.
  10. "Canadian Poetry Online | University of Toronto Libraries | Gwendolyn MacEwen". Library.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  11. K. Balachandran (2004). Critical Responses to Canadian Literature. Sarup & Sons. p. 13. ISBN 978-81-7625-521-9.
  12. The Archivist. Vol. 14–15. Public Archives of Canada. 1987.
  13. Coupey, Pierre. "Straight Beginnings: The Rise & Fall of the Underground Press", The Grape weekly newspaper #8, pages 12 and 13, March 8, 1972, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  14. "No Man is an Island". by Harold Heft Books in Canada website
  15. Downey, Donn. "Award-winning poet honored by peers", The Globe and Mail. August 22, 1986.
  16. Carolyn Purden. "Book Review: "Out of This World: The Natural History of Milton Acorn by Chris Gudgeon". Quill & Quire,
  17. Acorn, Milton (1977). Jackpine Sonnets. Toronto: Steel Rail Educational Publishing. p. Introduction. ISBN 9780887910074.
  18. George Elliott Clarke (2002). Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. University of Toronto Press. pp. 297–. ISBN 978-0-8020-8191-9.
  19. ". "The "People’s Poet" in three dimensions"]. Canadian Dimensions, Brenda Austin-Smith, September 28, 2016
  20. The Canadian Forum. Vol. 75. Canadian Forum. 1996. pp. 11–12.



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Milton James Rhode Acorn (30 mars 1923 à Charlottetown - 20 août 1986 à Charlottetown) est un poète populiste et pamphlétaire.


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