Poet-critic Tom Marshall examines four stages in the development of a purely Canadian tradition in poetry through a focus on the work of major poets writing in English from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

Tom Marshall was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in April, 1938. He studied English and History at Queen's University in the late 1950s, returning to the school after graduation to complete a master's degree on the poetry of A M Klein. With David Helwig, Marshall was at the centre of a group of writers active in Kingston, where he began teaching at Queen's in 1964. As a poet, he is known for four linked collections (published between 1969 and 1976) of philosophical, meditative verse. The Silences of Fire (Macmillan 1969) is perhaps the best known of these, though all of them are neatly represented in a fifth book, The Elements (Oberon 1980). Marshall is also the author of seven novels, among them Rosemary Goal (Oberon 1978), a satire of academic and literary life, and Adele at the End of the Day (Macmillan 1987). Most important critically are The Psychic Mariner: A Reading of the Poems of D.H. Lawrence (1970) and Harsh and Lovely Land (1979), an incisive, insightful survey of contemporary Canadian poets and poetry. Marshall died at Kingston in 1993.

Tom Marshall's profile page

A survey with many valuable insights and suggestive ideas.

Canadian Forum

A remarkable feat of research and summary, and will be a useful introduction to modern Canadian poetry.

Globe and Mail