Charles G. D. Roberts
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Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts (January 10, 1860 – November 26, 1943) was a Canadian
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 writte ...
and prose writer. He was one of the first Canadian authors to be internationally known. He published various works on Canadian exploration and natural history, verse, travel books, and fiction." He continued to be a well-known "man of letters" until his death. Besides his own body of work, Roberts has also been called the "Father of Canadian Poetry" because he served as an inspiration and a source of assistance for other Canadian poets of his time. Roberts, his cousin
Bliss Carman William Bliss Carman (April 15, 1861 – June 8, 1929) was a Canadian poet who lived most of his life in the United States, where he achieved international fame. He was acclaimed as Canada's poet laureate during his later years. In Canada, Car ...
,
Archibald Lampman Archibald Lampman (17 November 1861 – 10 February 1899) was a Canadian poet. "He has been described as 'the Canadian Keats;' and he is perhaps the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets." ''The Canadian Encyclope ...
and
Duncan Campbell Scott Duncan Campbell Scott (August 2, 1862 – December 19, 1947) was a Canadian civil servant and poet and prose writer. With Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Archibald Lampman, he is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. A care ...
are known as the
Confederation Poets ''Confederation Poets'' is the name given to a group of Canadian poets born in the decade of Canada's Confederation (the 1860s) who rose to prominence in Canada in the late 1880s and 1890s. The term was coined by Canadian professor and literary cr ...
. He also inspired a whole nationalist school of late 19th-century poets.


Early life and education

Roberts was born in
Douglas, New Brunswick Douglas (2001 population: 2,369) is a Canadian suburban community in York County, New Brunswick. Located on the east bank of the Saint John River, Douglas developed as a farming community but has witnessed two residential subdivisions develope ...
in 1860, the eldest child of Emma Wetmore Bliss and Rev. George Goodridge Roberts (an
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
priest). Rev. Roberts was rector of Fredericton and canon of Christ Church Cathedral, New Brunswick. Charles's brother
Theodore Goodridge Roberts George Edwards Theodore Goodridge Roberts (July 7, 1877 – February 24, 1953) was a Canadian novelist and poet. He was the author of thirty-four novels and over one hundred published stories and poems. He was the brother of poet Charles G. D. R ...
and sister,
Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald (, Roberts; 17 February 1864 – 8 November 1922) was a Canadian writer of poetry, children's literature, essays, and short stories. She regularly contributed articles to a number of Canadian and U.S. dailies. MacDonald ...
, also became authors. Between the ages of 8 months and 14 years, Roberts was raised in the parish of
Westcock, New Brunswick Westcock is a Canadian rural community in Westmorland County, about eight kilometres southwest of Sackville. In 1866, Westcock was a farming and lumbering settlement with about 62 families, while in 1898, Westcock had 1 post office, 1 sawmill, 1 ...
, near Sackville, by the
Tantramar Marshes The Tantramar Marshes, also known as the Tintamarre National Wildlife Area, is a tidal saltmarsh around the Bay of Fundy on the Isthmus of Chignecto. The area borders between Route 940, Route 16 and Route 2 near Sackville, New Brunswick. The g ...
. He was
homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
, mostly by his father, who was educated in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and French. He published his first writing, three articles in ''The Colonial Farmer,'' at 12 years of age. After the family moved to
Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
in 1873, Roberts attended
Fredericton Collegiate School Fredericton High School is a high school in the city of Fredericton in New Brunswick, Canada. History When the city of Fredericton was initially laid out in 1758, city planners set aside a plot of land in the downtown region that was intended ...
from 1874 to 1876, and then the
University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...
(UNB), earning his
B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in 1879 and
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1881. At the Collegiate School he came under the influence of headmaster
George Robert Parkin Sir George Robert Parkin (February 8, 1846 – June 25, 1922) was a Canadians, Canadian educator, imperialist, and author. Life and career Born at Parkindale, New Brunswick, Parkindale near Salisbury, New Brunswick, he was a graduate from ...
, who gave him a love of
classical literature Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
and introduced him to the poetry of
Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...
and
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
.


Early Canadian career

Roberts worked as principal of Chatham High School in
Chatham, New Brunswick Chatham is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, Chatham was an incorporated town in Northumberland County along the south bank of the Miramichi River opposite Douglasto ...
, from 1879 to 1881, and of York Street School in Fredericton from 1881 to 1883. In Chatham he met and befriended Edmund Collins, editor of the Chatham ''Star'' and the future biographer of Sir
John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...
. Roberts first published poetry in the ''Canadian Illustrated News'' of March 30, 1878, and by 1879 he had placed two poems in the American magazine, ''
Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...
''. In 1880, Roberts published his first book of poetry, '' Orion and Other Poems''. Thanks in part to his industry in sending out complimentary review copies, there were many positive reviews, including praise from ''Rose-Belford's Canadian Monthly'' and several American periodicals, including the ''New York Independent'', which called it 'a little book of choice things, with the indifferent things well weeded out.'" On December 29, 1880, Roberts married Mary Fenety, and they had five children. The biography by Roberts's friend Edmund Collins, ''The Life and Times of Sir John A. Macdonald'', was published in 1883. The book was a success, going through eight printings. It contained a chapter on "Thought and Literature in Canada," which devoted 15 pages to Roberts, quoting from ''Orion''. Collins' characterization of Roberts as "our greatest Canadian poet" helped develop Roberts' reputation as a prominent Canadian writer. From 1883 to 1884, Roberts was 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 ancho ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, working as the editor of
Goldwin Smith Goldwin Smith (13 August 1823 – 7 June 1910) was a British historian and journalist, active in the United Kingdom and Canada. In the 1860s he also taught at Cornell University in the United States. Life and career Early life and education S ...
's short-lived literary magazine, ''
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
''. After five months of long hours and disagreements with Smith, Roberts resigned. In 1885, Roberts became a professor at the
University of King's College The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...
in
Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for sev ...
. In 1886, his second book, '' In Divers Tones'', was published by a Boston publisher. During the following six years, Roberts wrote articles on a variety of subjects, and lectured in a number of cities in Canada and the United States. He published about thirty poems in ''The Independent'' (edited by Bliss Carman) and other American periodicals, as well as stories for young readers in ''
The Youth's Companion ''The Youth's Companion'' (1827–1929), known in later years as simply ''The Companion—For All the Family'', was an American children's magazine that existed for over one hundred years until it finally merged with ''The American Boy'' in 1929. ...
''. He also edited a poetry collection, ''Poems of Wild Life'' in 1888, and created the '' Canadian Guide Book'' in 1891. The anthology, ''
Songs of the Great Dominion ''Songs of the Great Dominion'' was a pioneering anthology of Canadian poetry published in 1889. The book's full title was ''Songs of the Great Dominion: Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada''.William Douw Light ...
'', edited by W.D. Lighthall, included a selection of Roberts's work. Roberts resigned from King's College in 1895, when his request for a leave of absence was turned down. In a short period of time he had published his first novel, ''The Forge in the Forest'', as well as a fourth collection of poetry, '' The Book of the Native''. He also wrote a book of nature-stories, '' Earth's Enigmas'', and completed a book of boys' adventure stories '' Around the Campfire''.


Move to New York

In 1897, Roberts left his wife and children in Canada and moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to work free-lance. Between 1897 and 1898, he worked for ''
The Illustrated American ''The Illustrated American'' was a weekly American periodical published from 1890 until 1900. It primarily covered current events (with illustrations), but also contained other miscellaneous content and some fiction.
'' as an associate editor. In New York, Roberts wrote prose in many
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s, but had most success with animal stories, drawing upon his early experience in the wilds of the Maritimes. He published about a dozen volumes of these, beginning with '' Earth's Enigmas'' in 1896 and ending with '' Eyes of the Wilderness'' in 1933. Roberts also wrote historical romances and novels. '' Barbara Ladd'' (1902) is the story of a young girl who runs away from her aunt in New England in 1769; it sold 80,000 copies in the US. He also wrote descriptive text for guide books, such as ''Picturesque Canada'' and ''The Land of Evangeline and Gateways Thither'' for
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
's
Dominion Atlantic Railway The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley. The Dominion Atlantic Railway was unusually diverse for a ...
. Roberts became involved in a literary debate known as the
nature fakers controversy The nature fakers controversy was an early 20th-century American literary debate highlighting the conflict between science and sentiment in popular nature writing. The debate involved important American literary, environmental and political fi ...
after
John Burroughs John Burroughs (April 3, 1837 – March 29, 1921) was an American naturalist and nature essayist, active in the conservation movement in the United States. The first of his essay collections was ''Wake-Robin'' in 1871. In the words of his bio ...
denounced his popular animal stories, and those of other writers, in a 1903 article for ''Atlantic Monthly''. The controversy lasted for nearly six years and included American environmental and political figures of the day, including President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
.


Europe and return to Canada

In 1907, Roberts moved to Europe. First living in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, he moved to
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
in 1910, and in 1912 to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, where he lived until
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
. During his stay in London, Roberts wrote a series of short stories about
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s and prehistoric humans. These stories were later collected as the 1919 book ''In the Morning of Time''. In Britain he became a member of
Legion of Frontiersmen The Legion of Frontiersmen is a civilian organisation formed in Britain in 1905 by Roger Pocock, a former constable with the North-West Mounted Police and Boer War veteran. Prompted by fears of an impending invasion of Britain and the Empire, th ...
. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he enlisted with the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
as a trooper, eventually becoming a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and a
cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
trainer in England. After the war he joined the Canadian War Records Office in London. Roberts returned to Canada in 1925 and began once more to write poetry." During the late 1920s he was a member of the Halifax literary and social set,
The Song Fishermen The Song Fishermen, or the Song Fishermen's Circle (1928–1930), was an informal group of poets from Atlantic Canada that included the famous Canadian poets Bliss Carman and Charles G. D. Roberts. History The group was led by Andrew and T ...
. He married his second wife Joan Montgomery on October 28, 1943, at the age of 83, but became ill and died shortly thereafter in Toronto. The funeral was held in Toronto; his ashes were interred in Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredericton.


Poetry


Early work

Roberts's first book, '' Orion and Other Poems'' (1880), was a collection of poetry written in his teen years. It was a vanity book; he paid an advance of $300 to have it published, borrowing money from George E. Fenety, the
Queen's Printer The King's Printer (known as the Queen's Printer during the reign of a female monarch) is typically a bureau of the national, state, or provincial government responsible for producing official documents issued by the King-in-Council, Ministers o ...
for New Brunswick, and his father-in-law-to-be. Much later, in 1958, the critic Desmond Pacey deemed it a "remarkable performance" considering the age of the writer. Editor Ross Kilpatrick called the poems "imitative, naively romantic, defective in diction", but also "facile, clever, and occasionally distinctly beautiful". Roberts' second book, '' In Divers Tones'' is filled with selections which vary in quality, style and subject. Those written after 1883 demonstrated developing skill, and three in particular, 'The Tantramar Revisited,' 'The Sower,' and 'The Potato Harvest, were considered superior. By the time of '' Songs of the Common Day, and Ave!'' (1893), Roberts poetic style was well developed. The
sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
sequence of ''Songs of the Common Day'' drew attention from critics; some colourfully described landscapes in Tantramar (lines such as "How sombre slope these acres to the sea' ('The Furrow"), 'These marshes pale and meadows by the sea' ('The Salt Flats'), and 'My fields of Tantramar in summer-time' ('The Pea-Fields')).


Middle period

After Roberts turned to free-lance writing in 1895, he began concentrating on writing fiction in order to support himself. He published two more books of poetry by 1898, but managed only two more in the following 30 years. His 1897 book of seasonal poems in ''The Book of the Native'' was a collection of works designed to appeal to monthly magazines: 'The Brook in February,' 'An April Adoration,' 'July,' and 'An August Woodroad.' Some of the poems demonstrated Roberts' skill at colourful depictions of nature through Romantic verse; however, the book also included examples of a shift toward a more mystical style. Roberts's 1898 book '' New York Nocturnes and Other Poems'' was filled mainly with poetry written before his move to New York. Written during a difficult time in his life, much of the work is unremarkable. The poem 'The Solitary Woodsman,' was later included in a number of anthologies. His poems about New York focus less on descriptions of visual interest and more on urban problems such as noise, fumes and crowding. The first and title section of '' The Book of the Rose'' (1903) was a collection of love poetry of varying effectiveness. Among the poems in the second section, "Heat in the City," about the distress and despair of the tenement-dwellers, has been praised as "the best poem he ever wrote about city life". Also notable is the introspective final poem in the book, "The Aim." "''
New Poems ''New Poems'' (german: Neue Gedichte) is a two-part collection of poems written by Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926). The first volume, dedicated to Elisabeth and Karl von der Heydt was composed from 1902 ...
'', a slim volume published in 1919, shows the drop in both the quantity and quality of Roberts' poetry during his European years. At least half of the pieces had been written before he left America, some as early as 1903."


Later poems

Roberts's "return to Canada in 1925 led to a renewed production of verse with '' The Vagrant of Time'' (1927) and '' The Iceberg and Other Poems'' (1934)."
Literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
Desmond Pacey William Cyril Desmond Pacey, (May 1, 1917 – July 4, 1975), was a pioneer of Canadian literary criticism. He was also a notable author of verse and short fiction and a long-time university administrator. He was awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal by ...
calls this period "the Indian summer of his poetic career". "Among the best of the new poems" in ''The Vagrant of Time'' "is the one with this inspired opening line: 'Spring breaks in foam along the blackthorn bough.' In another love poem, 'In the Night Watches,' written in 1926, his command of free verse is natural and unstrained, unlike the laboured language and forced rhymes of his earlier love poetry. Its synthesis of lonely wilderness setting with feelings of separation and longing is harmonious and poignant." "Most critics rank "The Iceberg" (265 lines), the title poem of the new collection" published in 1934, "as one of Roberts' outstanding achievements. It is almost as ambitious as 'Ave!' in conception; its cold, unemotional images are as apt and precise in their detached way as the warmly-remembered descriptions in 'Tantramar Revisited.'


Animal stories

''The
Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available for ...
'' says that "Roberts is remembered for creating in the animal story, along with
Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of ...
, the one native Canadian art form." A typical Roberts animal story is "
The Truce ''The Truce'' ( it, La tregua), titled ''The Reawakening'' in the US, is a book by the Italian author Primo Levi. It is the sequel to '' If This Is a Man'' and describes the author's experiences from the liberation of Auschwitz ( Monowitz), whi ...
". Many of Roberts' stories are told from the point of view of the animals themselves. In his introduction to '' The Kindred of the Wild'' (1902), Roberts called the animal story "a potent emancipator. It frees us for a little from the world of shop-worn utilities, and from the mean tenement of self of which we do well to grow weary. It helps us to return to nature, without requiring that we at the same time return to barbarism. It leads us back to the old kinship of earth, without asking us to relinquish by way of toll any part of the wisdom of the ages, any fine essential of the 'large result of time.' (Kindred 28)" Critics began to take interest in Roberts's animal stories in the 1960s and 70s. Some critics saw the animal stories as an allegory for Canadian nationhood, seeing in Seton's and Roberts' depictions of the brutal lives of animals a reflection of Canada's fate in dealing with the United States.
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
devotes a chapter of her 1971 critical study '' Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature'' to animal stories, where she states the same thesis: "''the stories are told from the point of view of the animal''. That's the key: English animal stories are about the 'social relations,' American ones are about people killing animals; Canadian ones are about animals being killed, as felt emotionally from inside the fur and feathers. (qtd. in Sandlos 74; ''emphasis in original'')."


Recognition

Charles G. D Roberts was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
in 1893. Roberts was elected to the United States
National Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...
in 1898. He was awarded an honorary LLD from UNB in 1906, and an honorary doctorate from
Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...
in 1942. For his contributions to Canadian literature, Roberts was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's first
Lorne Pierce Medal The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Canada to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature written in either English or French. The medal was first a ...
in 1926. On June 3, 1935, Roberts was one of three Canadians on
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
's honour list to receive a knighthood (Knight Commander of the
Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...
). Roberts was honoured by a sculpture erected in 1947 on the UNB campus, portraying him with Bliss Carman and fellow poet
Francis Joseph Sherman Francis Joseph Sherman (February 3, 1871 – June 15, 1926) was a Canadian poet. He published a number of books of poetry during the last years of the nineteenth century, including ''Matins'' and ''In Memorabilia Mortis'' (a collection of sonnets ...
. The 1980s were a period of renewed interest in Roberts' work: a number of monographs were written; a book containing all his poems, a biography, and a collection of his letters were published.Mount Allison University hosted a Roberts Symposium in 1982, as did the University of Ottawa in 1983. There were several new studies of his poetry. Roberts was declared a
Person of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the re ...
in 1945, and a monument to him was erected by the
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
in Westcock in 2005. His alma mater, the University of New Brunswick, offers a "Charles G.D. Roberts Memorial Prize" for best short story by an undergraduate. Roberts' poem "The Maple" was set to music by composer Garrett Krause, and performed in 2018 as part of the Luminous Voices concert in Calgary.


Publications


Poetry

* ; also: ; * ; also: ; *''AVE! An Ode for the Shelley Centenary''. Toronto: Williamson, 1892. * ; * * *''Poems''. New York: Silver, Burdett, 1901. * ; * * ; * ; * * * * * *


Fiction

* ; * ; * * ; * * * * * * * * ; * * (Illustrated by Julek Heller in 1976) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (digital copy at
HathiTrust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...
) – 1912 magazine stories, extended; with eight illustrations by seven artists . Retrieved November 1, 2017. * * * * * * * *


Non-fiction

* * * *''Canada in Flanders'' (1918) – non-fiction


Edited

*''Poems of Wild Life.'' London: W. Scott, 1888. *''Canada Speaks of Britain and Other Poems of the War''. Toronto: Ryerson, 1941.


Papers

* ''Sir Charles G. D. Roberts papers.'' Charles George Douglas Roberts; Linda Dumbleton; Rose Mary Gibson. Kingston : Queen's University Archives, . * ''The Collected Letters of Sir Charles G.D. Roberts.'' Fredericton, NB: Goose Lane, 1989.


See also

*
Canadian literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both ge ...
*
Canadian poetry Canadian poetry is poetry of or typical of Canada. The term encompasses poetry written in Canada or by Canadian people in the official languages of English and French, and an increasingly prominent body of work in both other European and Indigenou ...
*
List of Canadian poets This is a list of Canadian poets. Years link to corresponding "earin poetry" articles. A *Mark Abley (born 1955), poet, journalist, editor, and non-fiction writer. *Milton Acorn (1923–1986), poet, writer, and playwright * José Acquelin ...
*
William Harris Lloyd Roberts William Harris Lloyd Roberts (31 October 1884 – 28 June 1966) was a Canadian writer, poet, and playwright. He was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, the son of noted Canadian poet Charles George Douglas Roberts and Mary Isabel Fenety. After a ...


Notes


Citations


Further reading

* * Adams, John Coldwell, ''Sir Charles God Damn: The Life of Sir Charles G.D. Roberts'', University of Toronto Press, 1986. * Scobie, Charles H.H., ''Roberts Country: Sir Charles G. D Roberts and the Tantramar'', Tantramar Heritage Trust, 2008.


External links

* * * *
Poetry Online: Charles G.D. Roberts

Archives of the Roberts family
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Charles 1860 births 1943 deaths 19th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian poets 19th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian Anglicans Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British Army personnel of World War I Canadian male novelists Canadian people of Welsh descent Canadian male short story writers Canadian World War I poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Legion of Frontiersmen members Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Sackville, New Brunswick People from York County, New Brunswick Sonneteers University of New Brunswick alumni Writers from New Brunswick British Army soldiers King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 19th-century Canadian short story writers 19th-century male writers Canadian historical novelists Writers of fiction set in prehistoric times