Roy Daniells, (April 6, 1902 – April 13, 1979) 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 ...
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
professor. He helped build 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 ...
's creative writing department and fostered the careers of several major Canadian writers.
Education and career
Daniells was born in
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 ...
(UK) on April 6, 1902, but received the bulk of his education in Canada following his family's relocation to Victoria, BC in 1910. He attended
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 ...
(UBC) and
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 ...
, receiving a Ph.D. from the latter in 1936. Thereafter, he worked at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.alma mater UBC. When Garnet Sedgewick retired in 1948, Daniells became department head, holding that post until 1965. During that time, he helped establish a Creative Writing Department at UBC and also promoted the university's funding of studies in Canadian Literature.
In 1965, Daniells was named the first University Professor of English Language and Literature. Daniells helped the writing careers of Margaret Avison,
Earle Birney
Earle Alfred Birney (13 May 1904 – 3 September 1995) was a Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honour, for his poetry.
Life
Born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised on a farm in Eric ...
Eric Nicol
Eric Patrick Nicol (December 28, 1919 – February 2, 2011) was a Canadian writer, best known as a longtime humour columnist for the Vancouver, British Columbia newspaper ''The Province''. He also published over 40 books, both original works a ...
Phyllis Webb
Phyllis Webb (April 8, 1927 – November 11, 2021) was a Canadian poet and broadcaster.
Webb's poetry had diverse influences, ranging from neo-Confucianism to the field theory of composition developed by the Black Mountain poets. Critics have ...
, Adele Wiseman, and George Woodcock, among others. He retired in 1974.
There is a biography of Daniells by author
Sandra Djwa
Sandra Djwa (born April 16, 1939) is a Canadian writer, critic and cultural biographer.
Originally from Newfoundland, she moved to British Columbia where she obtained her PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1968. In 1999, she was h ...
.
Publications
As an academic, Daniells had broad focus, specializing in
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
and seventeenth century English literature, but also published widely on Canadian literature and history, including the 1969 volume ''Alexander Mackenzie and the North West'' (Great Travellers Series, London, Faber and Faber). He was also a poet with two published volumes.
Awards and honours
* first University Professor of English Language and Literature (1965)
* Lorne Pierce Medal (1970)
*
Companion 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 Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with ...
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 ...