Mildred Claire Pratt (18 March 1921 – 5 April 1995) was a Canadian artist,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and editor who published her work as Claire Pratt.

Biography

Pratt was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario on March 18, 1921, the only daughter of Viola Whitney, an editor of the magazine ''World Friends'', and poet

E. J. Pratt Edwin John Dove Pratt (February 4, 1882 – April 26, 1964), who published as E. J. Pratt, was "the leading Canadian poet of his time."

. Pratt contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

at the age of 4 and later developed

osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis (OM) is an infection of bone. Symptoms may include pain in a specific bone with overlying redness, fever, and weakness. The long bones of the arms and legs are most commonly involved in children e.g. the femur and humerus, while the ...

, an inflammatory disease of the bone. This affected her for most of her life. She received degrees in

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and Philosophy from Victoria College,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, with a gold medal. She then studied

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and art at the

Boston Museum of Fine Art The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

among other schools. She went on to become an editor for Macmillan Canada, the

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university cale ...

, and

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

, and

senior editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edito ...

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

from 1956-1965. She retired due to her health issues in 1964, although continued to freelance for various publishing houses. She continued her art studies in

and

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. She published ''Silent Ancestors'' in 1971. This

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

essay is a tribute to the descendants of the Pratt family, originally from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, who settled in Newfoundland. Pratt's art consisted largely of

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

s, and there were exhibitions of her

graphic art A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface.

across North America and in

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. Her interest in Japanese graphics stimulated an interest in

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or s ...

. Her work in this style was widely published, often with her own illustrations. Her work was also inspired by her father's poetry, and she use excerpts from his poems in many of her

Christmas cards A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during ...

. She also explored the themes and imagery of E. J. Pratt's work in various works.

References

External links

The Mildred Claire Pratt fonds at the Victoria University Library at the University of Toronto
that consists of records associated with Claire Pratt's career as writer and artist, in addition to family records.
Institute of Arts and Humanities page on Claire Pratt
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Claire 1921 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets University of Toronto alumni Canadian book editors Canadian women poets 20th-century Canadian printmakers Canadian graphic designers English-language haiku poets Canadian women essayists 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian essayists 20th-century Canadian women artists Women graphic designers Canadian expatriates in the United States