Robert Duer Claydon Finch (May 14, 1900 – June 11, 1995) was a Canadian poet and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. He twice won

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 ...

's top literary honor, 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 ...

, for his poetry.
Robert Finch
" Online Guide to Writing in Canada. Web, Mar. 17, 2011.

Life

Born in Freeport,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, New York, Finch was educated at 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 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, ...

. He was a professor of French at the University of Toronto for four decades (1928–1968), and an expert on

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not have a significant st ...

.E.D. Blodgett,
Finch, Robert Duer Claydon
" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 773.

Writing

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 fo ...

'' calls Finch "one of Canada's

modernists Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

" in poetry. It adds: "His work, deeply imbued with the classical tradition, is characterized by an intense care for form and graced by a rare subtlety and elegance." Finch began writing poetry in the early 1920s; "like most of the Canadian

Modernists Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

, he wrote much of his best known poetry in the 1930s, when the Depression precluded the real possibility of publication."Brian Trehearne,
Finch's Early Poetry and the Dandy Manner
" ''Canadian Poetry: Studies/Documents/Reviews'', No. 18 (Spring/Summer, 1986). Web, Mar. 18, 2011. In

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, Finch published eleven poems in the "milestone selection of modernist Canadian verse," '' New Provinces'', edited by

F.R. Scott Francis Reginald Scott (1899–1985), commonly known as Frank Scott or F. R. Scott, was a lawyer, Canadian poet, intellectual, and constitutional scholar. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Common ...

and

A.J.M. Smith Arthur James Marshall Smith (November 8, 1902 – November 21, 1980) was a Canadian poet and anthologist. He "was a prominent member of a group of Montreal poets" – the Montreal Group, which included Leon Edel, Leo Kennedy, A. M. Klei ...

.Michael Gnarowski,
New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors
" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Hurtig: Edmonton, 1988), 1479. "Mr. Finch is an intellectual poet," Smith wrote in 1939. "Of the six contributors to ''New Provinces'', he is the most elegant and the least sensuous. His verse is not without feeling, but the feeling is so carefully husbanded and so fastidiously winnowed that one is impressed with its delicacy and precision rather than with its abundance and strength." Smith included Finch's poetry in his critically praised

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

anthology, ''The Book of Canadian Poetry'', bringing it to a national audience. Finch's first book of poetry, ''Poems'', was published in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

Recognition

Finch won the Governor General's Award in

for ''Poems'', and in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

for ''Acis in Oxford and Other Poems''. He 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 ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. The Society awarded him 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 aw ...

in 1968.

Publications

Poetry

* '' New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors''. Toronto, Macmillan,

. (one of six poets in a collection) * ''Poems''. Toronto: Oxford U P,

. * ''The Strength of the Hills''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1948. * ''A Century has Roots: a masque performed at Hart House Theatre to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the foundation of University College, Toronto, in 1853''. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1953. * ''Acis in Oxford and Other Poems''. Oxford UK: privately printed at New Bodleian,

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. Toronto: U of Toronto P,

. * ''Dover Beach Revisited and Other Poems''. Toronto: Macmillan,

. * ''Silverthorn Bush and Other Poem''. Toronto: Macmillan, 1966. * "Five Sonnets," ''Tamarack Review'' 74 (Spring 1978). * ''Variations and Theme''. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 1980. * ''Has and Is''. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill,

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 ...

. * ''Twelve for Christmas''. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. * ''The Grand Duke of Moscow's Favourite Solo''. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 1983. * ''Double Tuning''. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 1984. * ''Sailboat and Lake.''. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 1984. * ''Miracle at the Jetty.'' Port Rowan, ON: Leeboard P,

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 ...

Prose

* ''The Sixth Sense: Individualism in French Poetry 1686-1760''. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1966.Search results
Robert Finch, Open Library
Web, May 9, 2011.

Edited

* ''French Individualist Poetry 1686-1760''. Robert Finch & Eugène Joliat ed. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1971.

References

External links

Archival papers held at University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Robert Canadian modernist poets 1900 births 1995 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award-winning poets University of Toronto faculty 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets