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 Lighthall,
Songs of the Great Dominion
Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada'' (Walter Scott indsor Series 1889), Google Books, Web, Apr. 30, 2011. The collection was selected and edited by William Douw Lighthall. It was published in London, England by the firm of Walter Scott, as part of its "Windsor Series" of anthologies.Michael Gnarowski,
Songs of the Great Dominion
, ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton:Hurtig, 1988), 2047.

The book introduced Canadian and English audiences to a new generation of Canadian writers. It marked the first publication in book form for several poets, including Bliss Carman, Pauline Johnson, and Duncan Campbell Scott.

History

Lighthall was asked to put together an anthology for Walter Scott by poet William Sharp, who was working as an editor for the firm. Independently, freelance editor Ernest Rhys made the same proposal on behalf of Walter Scott to Canadian poet Charles G.D. Roberts. When the mixup was revealed, Roberts withdrew, but promised Lighthall "whatever assistance you might permit me to be." Roberts suggested several writers for inclusion, including his cousin Barry Straton and his sister Elizabeth (both of whom were included).John Coldwell Adams,
The Whirligig of Time
" ''Confederation Voices,'' Canadian Poetry, UWO, Web, Apr. 30, 2011.

"Supplied with a ringing introduction which echoes with patriotic sentiment and lyrical praise for Canada," says the ''Canadian Encyclopedia'', "this is a collection of confident poetry truly representative of the national and literary self-respect of the emergent Dominion."

In his introduction, Lighthall was lavish in his praise of Roberts. "The foremost name in Canadian song at the present day is that of Charles George Douglas Roberts," he declared. Immediately after Roberts Lighthall talked of Charles Sangster, whom he called Canada's "first important national poet" and "a kind of Wordsworth."

Lighthall was also lavish in praising the reputation of Isabella Valancy Crawford, whose one book of poetry had failed to sell in 1884, and who had died neglected in 1887 (a "sad story of unrecognized genius and death," as he put it). While gently mocking her title, Lighthall pronounced Crawford's book, ''Old Spookse's Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and Other Poems,'' to be "the most striking volume" of Canadian poetry after Roberts's, and "even more boldly new" than his. After her death, he added, "Miss Crawford's work was, in fact, seen to be phenomenal."

In a review of ''Songs of the Great Dominion'' in the September 28, 1889, ''Athenæum'', Theodore Watts-Dunton singled out Pauline Johnson for special praise, calling her “the most interesting English poetess now living” and quoting her poem "In the Shadows" in full. Johnson (who had not yet published a book) considered this to be a big boost for her career, and felt herself "indebted" for the inclusion and the review.John Coldwell Adams,
Pauline Johnson
" ''Confederation Voices,'' Canadian Poetry, UWO, Web, Apr. 30, 2011.

One person who was unhappy with the selection was William Wilfred Campbell. "I have been cruelly misrepresented by a willful choice of my poorest work," Campbell wrote to a friend."

"The anthology is noteworthy for its attempt to include some French Canadian poetry in the appendix as well as some folksongs in translation, and for its recognition of a distinct Indian element in Canadian writing."

Walter Scott republished the anthology in 1892 under the title, ''Canadian Poems and Lays: Selections of native verse reflecting the seasons, legends, and life of the Dominion.''Canadian Poems and Lays
" Internet Archive, Web, May 10, 2011.

Contents

Contents of the 1889 edition:

*Introduction illiam Douw Lighthall/xxi
*Entry of the Minstrels (from ''Masque of the Minstrels''), Arthur J. Lockhart /xxxix

;I. The Imperial Spirit
*Hastings (from ''Merlin and Other Poems''), John Reade /3
*Advance of the Empire (from ''Jubilee Poems''), Mary Barry Smith /5
*Canada to England, Anonymous /7
*Empire First
Jean-Talon L'Espérance
("Laclède") /10
*The Canadians on the Nile (from ''Poems''), William Wye Smith /11

;II. The New Nationality
*Dominion Day, "Fidelis" / 15
*Canada (from ''In Divers Tones''), Charles G.D. Roberts /18
*The Confused Dawn (from ''Thoughts, Moods, and Ideals''), William Douw Lighthall