Dorothy Kathleen May Livesay, (October 12, 1909 – December 29, 1996) was a Canadian poet who twice won the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in the 1940s, and was "senior woman writer in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

" during the 1970s and 1980s.Mathews, R.D.. "Dorothy Livesay". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 16 December 2013, ''Historica Canada''. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dorothy-livesay. Accessed 15 May 2020.

Life

Livesay was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. Her mother, Florence Randal Livesay, was a poet and journalist; her father, J.F.B. Livesay was the General Manager of

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

. Livesay moved to

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 ...

, with her family in 1920. She graduated with a BA in 1931 from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in the

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

and received a diploma from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Social Work in 1934. She also studied at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In 1931 in Paris, Livesay became a committed Communist. She joined the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...

in 1933, and was active in a number of its front organizations: the

Canadian Labour Defence League The Canadian Labour Defence League (CLDL) was a legal defence organization founded and led by A. E. Smith. The league was in 1925 as a civil rights organization dedicated to protecting striking workers from persecution. It was allied with t ...

, the

Canadian League Against War and Fascism Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Friends of the Soviet Union The International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union was an organization formed on the initiative of the Communist International in 1927, with the purpose of coordinating solidarity efforts with the Soviet Union around the world. It grew out ...

, and the

Workers' Unity League The Workers' Unity League (WUL) was established in January 1930 as a militant industrial union labour central closely related to the Communist Party of Canada on the instructions of the Communist International. This was reflective of the shift in ...

.Peggy Kelly,
Politics, Gender, and New Provinces
: Dorothy Livesay and F.R. Scott," ''Canadian Poetry: Studies/Documents/Reviews'', No. 53, Fall/Winter, 2003. Livesay moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1935, and married Duncan Macnair, a fellow socialist, in 1937. They had two children,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and Marcia. In the early 1940s Livesay suggested to

Anne Marriott Anne Marriott (November 5, 1913 – October 10, 1997)Curtis, Jenefer, "Lives Lived" was a Canadian writer who won the Governor General's Award for her book ''Calling Adventurers!'' "She was renowned especially for the narrative poem ''The Wind, ...

, Floris McLaren, and Doris Ferne that they start a poetry magazine which would serve as a vehicle for poets outside the somewhat closed Montreal circle. Alan Crawley agreed to edit the magazine, and the first issue of ''Contemporary Verse'' appeared in September 1941,(Joyce) Anne Marriott
" ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'', Bookrags.com, Web, Apr. 21, 2011. After Macnair died in 1959, Livesay worked for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

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 ...

, and then in Northern Rhodesia (now

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

) as a field worker from 1960 to 1963. Between 1951 and 1984, she was an instructor and a writer-in-residence at many Canadian universities, including the University of British Columbia (1951–53 and 1966–68),

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 ...

(1966–1968),

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

(1968–1971),

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

(1972–1974),

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

(1980–82), and University of Toronto (1983–84).Dorothy Livesay
," English-Canadian Writers, Athabasca University. Web, Mar. 19, 2011. In 1975 Livesay founded the journal ''Contemporary Verse 2'' (CVII). She died in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in 1996.

Writing

Livesay's first collection of poetry, ''Green Pitcher'', was published in 1928, when she was only nineteen. The ''Encyclopedia of Literature'' says, "these were well-crafted poems that not only showed skilled use of the imagist technique but prefigured Margaret Atwood's condemnations of exploitative and fearful attitudes to the Canadian landscape." The book "later disappointed Livesay by its failure to deal openly with social issues. She published her first short story, "Heat", in the ''Canadian Mercury'' at the same age (in January, 1929). Her second book of poems, ''Signpost'' (1932), "showed the increasing sophistication of her imagist skills, as in 'Green rain', and an original sense of feminine sexuality." When her ''Selected Poems'' were published in 1956, Canadian literary critic

Northrop Frye Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Frye gained international fame with his first book, '' Fearful Symmet ...

said of them: :Miss Livesay is an imagist who started off, in ''Green Pitcher'' (1929), in the Amy Lowell idiom.... With ''Day and Night'' (1944) a social passion begins to fuse the diction, tighten the rhythm, and concentrate the imagery.... From "Prelude for Spring" on, the original imagist texture gradually returns.... The basis of Miss Livesay's imagery is the association between winter and the human death-impulse and between spring and the human capacity for life. Cutting across this is the irony of the fact that spring tends to obliterate the memory of winter, whereas human beings enjoying love and peace retain an uneasy sense of the horrors of hatred and war.... :The dangers of imagism are facility and slackness, and one reads through this book with mixed feelings. But it is one of the few rewards of writing poetry that the poet takes his ranking from his best work. Miss Livesay's most distinctive quality, I think, is her power of observing how other people observe, especially children. Too often her own observation goes out of focus, making the love poems elusive and the descriptive ones prolix, but in the gentle humour of 'The Traveller,' in 'The Child Looks Out,' in 'On Seeing,' in the nursery-rhyme rhythm of 'Abracadabra,' and in many other places, we can see what Professor Desmond Pacey means by "a voice we delight to hear."

Awards and honours

Livesay won the

, Canada's top poetry honour, twice: in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

for ''Day and Night'', and in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

for ''Poems for People''. 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 ...

elected her as a Fellow, and awarded her its

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 1947. Livesay also won the Queen's Canada Medal in 1977, and the Persons Case Award for the Status of Women in 1984. In 1983 she was made a Doctor of

Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public research university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first ...

and in 1987 she became an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. Livesay was awarded the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

in 1992. The

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, established in 1986, is awarded annually to the best collection of poetry by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. One of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, the award was originally known as the B.C. Prize for Poetry. ...

is a category of the

BC Book Prizes The BC Book & Yukon Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia and Yukon writers and publishers. The prizes, as well as the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence, are presented annually at the Lieutena ...

that is awarded to authors of the best work of poetry in a given year, where those authors are British Columbia or Yukon residents, or have been for three of the last five years. Originally known as the B.C. Prize for Poetry, in 1989 it was named after Livesay.

Publications

Poetry

* ''Green Pitcher''. Toronto: Macmillan,

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

. * ''Signpost''. Toronto: Macmillan,

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

.
''Day and Night''
Toronto: Ryerson,

New Edition by Oolichan Books,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. * ''Poems for People''. Toronto: Ryerson,

. * ''Call My People Home''. Toronto: Ryerson,

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. * ''New Poems''. Toronto: Emblem Books,

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. * ''Selected Poems, 1926-1956.'' Toronto: Ryerson Press,

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

. * ''The Colour of God's Face''.

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. * ''The Unquiet Bed''. Toronto: Ryerson Press,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. * ''The Documentaries''. Toronto: Ryerson Press,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. * ''Plainsongs''. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead Poetry Books,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. * ''Plainsongs Extended''. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead Poetry Books,

* ''Disasters of the Sun''. Burnaby, BC: Blackfish Press,

. * ''Collected Poems: The Two Seasons''. Toronto: Mcgraw-Hill Ryerson,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. * ''Nine Poems of Farewell''. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

. * ''Ice Age''. Erin, ON: Porcepic,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. * ''Right Hand Left Hand''. Erin, ON: Porcepic,

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

. * ''The Raw Edges: Voices from Our Time''. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. * ''The Phases of Love''. Toronto: Coach House,

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. * ''Feeling the Worlds: New Poems''. Fredericton: Goose Lane,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. * ''Beyond War: The Poetry''.

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

* ''The Self-Completing Tree: Selected Poems.'' Victoria: Porcepic,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. * ''Beginnings''. Winnipeg: Peguis,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. * ''The Woman I Am''. Montreal: Guernica,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. * ''Archive for Our Times: Previously Uncollected and Unpublished Poems of Dorothy Livesay'', Irvine Dean ed. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Memoirs

* ''A Winnipeg Childhood'' (1973) * ''Right hand left hand: a true life of the thirties'' (1977) * ''Journey With My Selves: A Memoir, 1909-1963'' (1991) ''Except where otherwise noted, bibliographic information courtesy Brock University.'' Dorothy Livesay (1909-1996): Works"
Canadian Women Poets, Brock University. Web, Mar. 18, 2011.

Discography

*''Celebration: Famous Canadian Poets CD''

Canadian Poetry Association Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

— 2001 (CD#2) (with

Eli Mandel Eli Mandel (December 3, 1922 – September 3, 1992) was a Canadian poet, editor of many Canadian anthologies, and literary academic. Biography Eli Mandel died in relative obscurity. A series of strokes had left him unable to write and, as a r ...

)

References

External links

Order of Canada Citation
awarded on December 29, 1986.
''Archive for Our Times: Previously Uncollected and Unpublished Poems of Dorothy Livesay'' ''Dorothy Livesay''

Archival holdings

Dorothy Livesay fonds
a
Queen's University Archives
holds personal and business correspondence.
Dorothy Livesay fonds
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
Fonds PS 8523 I95 Z46 - Dorothy Livesay Archives
at the

Bruce Peel Special Collections Bruce Peel Special Collections is a library in the University of Alberta Library system that includes a large collection of rare books and archival materials from around the world. The library is named for Bruce Braden Peel, chief librarian at the ...

, University of Alberta reflect Dorothy Livesay's earlier work as a poet. *

University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections The University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections is a department of the University of Manitoba Libraries which holds historical records related to and created by the University of Manitoba. It is also a collector of private records of indi ...

holds an extensive collection of over 23 metres o
Dorothy Livesay papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livesay, Dorothy 1909 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian modernist poets Modernist women writers Canadian socialists Canadian women poets Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award-winning poets Members of the Order of British Columbia Officers of the Order of Canada Trinity College (Canada) alumni University of Paris alumni University of Toronto alumni Writers from Toronto Writers from Winnipeg 20th-century Canadian women writers Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners