Published in 2014
64 pages
Anne Wilkinson (21 September 1910 – 10 May 1961) was one of Canada’s few female modernist poets writing during the 1940s and 50s. Born into a wealthy family in Toronto, she grew up there and in London, Ontario, and travelled extensively over the course of her private education. She published her first collection of poetry, Counterpoint to Sleep, in 1951 at the age of 40, followed by her second, The Hangman Ties the Holly, in 1955. Though she considered herself an outsider in Canadian poetry circles, Wilkinson was highly regarded by her peers, and contributed greatly to the Canadian writing community, as a poet, the author of two books of prose, and as a founding editor of The Tamarack Review.
Ingrid Ruthig is a writer, editor, artist and former architect whose books include Slipstream (ARKITEXWERKS, 2011), Richard Outram: Essays on His Works (Guernica, 2011), and the chapbook Synesthete II (Littlefishcart Press, 2005). Her writing has appeared across Canada and internationally in publications like The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2012 (Tightrope Books), The Malahat Review, Descant, The Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly and Cordite, among many others. Her award-winning artwork fusing text and image is held in private collections and has been featured in numerous art galleries and festivals. Ruthig lives near Toronto with her family.
What is this book about?
Anne Wilkinson’s poetic career emerged during a time of few Canadian poets—and even fewer who were women. The Essential Anne Wilkinson showcases the work of her abbreviated but meaningful career, with poems that range from intellectual and symbolic lyrics, to direct, incisive satire… [and] gives voice to a highly regarded but oft-forgotten poet, who introduced a unique female perspective to the Canadian modernist movement.
