Amelia Beers Warnock Garvin (13 August 1874 – 7 September 1956), who wrote under the pen name Katherine Hale, was a

Canadian 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 ...

poet, critic, and short story writer.

Biography

Amelia Beers Warnock was born in

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the c ...

, in 1874.''Ontario, Canada Births, 1858–1913'' Her father, James Warnock, was a Scottish industrialist, and her mother, Katherine Hale Byard, was from

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

and a relation of Edward Everett Hale. She attended school in

Galt, Ontario Galt is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario on the Grand River. Prior to 1973, it was an independent city, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the to ...

, including Galt Collegiate Institute, where she performed in operettas. She also studied at Glen Mawr day school in Toronto, before traveling to New York and Europe to train as an opera singer. Following her studies, Hale toured as a soprano recitalist and gave lectures on a variety of topics, including Canadian literature. She had begun submitting pieces about Wagnerian opera to publications while still studying in New York. Her work was well received and resulted in a position as Editor of Contemporary Literature with the Toronto newspaper ''

The Mail and Empire ''The Mail and Empire'' was formed from the 1895 merger of ''The Toronto Mail'' (owned by Charles Alfred Riordan and managed by Christopher W. Bunting) and ''Toronto Empire'' newspapers, both conservative newspapers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It ...

''. As her profile rose she adopted the pen name Katherine Hale, in a nod to her mother. Already an active journalist, musician, lecturer, and critic, Hale gained popular notoriety for her war poetry during the

First World War 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 ...

. Her first book of poetry, ''Grey Knitting and Other Poems'', ran into four editions of a thousand each, before it had been on the market for six weeks. In addition to writing, Hale was a member of various association and served as president of organizations such as the

Heliconian Club The Heliconian Club of Toronto is an association of women involved in the arts and letters based in Toronto, Canada. It operates out of Heliconian Hall located in Yorkville. In existence for over 110 years, the Heliconian Club remains steadfast in ...

, the Women's Press Club, and the Women's Canadian Club. She was married publisher and teacher

John William Garvin John William Garvin (1859–1935) was a Canadian publisher and teacher in Toronto, Ontario. He was also the husband of the writer known as Katherine Hale, the pen name of Amelia Beers Warnock. Garvin was a prolific editor and published numerou ...

, of Toronto, in 1912. She died in 1956.

Works

* ''Grey Knitting, And Other Poems'', (1914) * ''The White Comrade And Other Poems'', (1916) * ''The New Joan And Other Poems'', (1917) * ''Morning In The West'', (1923) * ''Isabella Valancy Crawford'', (1923) * ''Legends Of The St Lawrence'', (1926) * ''Canadian Houses Of Romance'', (1926) * ''Story Of Jeanne Mance'', (1930) * ''Story Of Pierre Esprith Raddison'', (1931) * ''Canadian Cities Of Romance'', (1933) * ''The Island, And Other Poems'', (1934) * ''Canada's Peace Tower And Memorial Chamber...'', (1935) * ''This Is Ontario!'', (1937) * ''The Flute And Other Poems'', (1950) * ''Historic Houses Of Canada'', (1952) Source:

References

External links

*
Entry for Katharine Hale
in John William Garvin's ''Canadian Poets'' from 1916.

from the Canadian Poetry Press. (archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Katherine 1874 births 1956 deaths Canadian women poets 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian women short story writers Writers from Waterloo, Ontario