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One of the joys of assembling the Ryerson Poetry Chapbooks has been the unearthing of innumerable poetic voices, obscured by history. Without sounding too much like a cantakerous old man, it is abominable the way some of these artists have been buried by time. Take our featured poet, the sorely under-appreciated Fred Cogswell.

Cogswell was not only a formidable poet of everyday occurrances - the way light infuses objects at a certain time of day, or the fleeting memory of beloved one - he was also a major proponent in the dissemination of some of Canada's leading poetic lights. If you've ever heard of Emile Nelligen - some say the Quebec equivalent of Arthur Rimbaud - than it is most likely you are familiar with Cogswell. Cogswell was a prolific translator and translated Nelligen's poems into english for the first time. He was also the founder of Fiddlehead Poetry Books, which is still operating, now under the name Goose Lane Books. Cogswell was a fervant advocate of young poetic talent and seemed to be imbued with an unswerving vitality. Mixed though with this enthusiasm is a darker tone, a mature realization of loss.

The son of Walter Scott and Florence White Cogswell, Cogswell was born in East Centreville, New Brunswick, on 8 November 1917.  he served overseas in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. A teacher at the age of sixteen, Cogswell gained a BA(Hons) and MA at the University of New Brunswick and received a PhD from Edinburgh University. He later became a professor of English at the University of New Brunswick, a position he held from 1952 to 1983.

"The Haloed Tree" was published in 1956 and features a generous selection of his mid career work.

Cogswell was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1981, and died in 2004.

 

Blah blahtest new line test  RPF&CO is seeking completed manuscripts by Canadian authors that explore the current state of our world. If your writing concerns  the ethical, ecological, cultural, political, or psychological well-being of this planet and its people, RPF&CO wants to read your manuscript.  It could be a pamphlet, a treatise, a dialogue, a fable, or a handbook. Now is the time to share your work with a wider audience. We are currently seeking new titles in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry for consideration to expand our catalog. Our mandate is to foster forward-thinking Canadian texts, to present and preserve the literary history of our nation, and to share contemporary Canadian writing with a national and international audience. In our family-run, downtown Toronto studio/production facility, we cultivate the highest quality, innovative design and production. Please submit the following for consideration:  * a one-page introductory letter explaining the subject of your manuscript.
 * a partial bibliography, CV, and your publishing history. 
 * your manuscript as a Word Doc. or in PDF format. 
 * what you think the manuscript’s potential market is, and whether it’s been excerpted or previously published anywhere else. 
 * whether the manuscript is in consideration with another publisher.
* mention any illustrations or accompanying art for consideration. We are currently accepting manuscripts.  Please send to:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.