The Sacrificial Poetics of A.J.M. Smith

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
The Sacrificial Poetics of A.J.M. Smith
Abstract
The author discusses the poetry written by Montreal-born A.J.M. Smith (1902-1980) between 1932 and 1934, a period she describes as a transitional phase for Smith, from the culturally confident 1920s to the darker, more doubtful years of the Depression. Smith was a prominent member of the Montreal Group of modernist poets (along with such other members as Leon Edel, Leo Kennedy, A. M. Klein, and F. R. Scott). The author argues that Smith’s earlier verse, as exemplified by poems such as “Like an Old Proud King in a Parable” (1928), “Good Friday” (1929), and “To a Young Poet” (1934), serves to establish a model of self-sacrifice for the poet by stressing the precepts of modern poetry at the expense of recognition and popularity. By the mid-thirties, however, the author points out that Smith’s sacrificial confidence shows signs of weakness, and poems such as “A Soldier’s Ghost” (1934) and “Chorus” (1936) point to a darker, less assertive articulation of the value of personal sacrifice.
Publication
Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne
Volume
Vol. 36
Issue
no. 1
Pages
186-203
Date
2011
Language
en
URL
Citation
Gélinas-Faucher, Claudine. “The Sacrificial Poetics of A.J.M. Smith.” Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne Vol. 36, no. 1 (2011): 186–203. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/scl/2011-v36-n1-scl36_1/scl36_1art11.pdf.
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