W.E. Collin

William Edwin Collin (May 9, 1893 - December 21, 1984) was a Canadian literary critic, best known for his 1936 survey of Canadian poetry, The White Savannahs.

Life
Collin was born in Oakenshaw, England.

The White Savannahs established Collin as a major literary critic. Collin analyzed Canadian poetry from a modernist perspective, applying the ideas of T.S. Eliot, Sir James Frazer, and the Symbolists to Canadian poetry.

His other works included a study of Paul-Jean Toulet.

From 1941 to 1956 he wrote the annual review of French-Canadian literature for the University of Toronto Quarterly.

He died at London, Ontario, in 1984.

Poetry

 * Monserrat and other poems. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1930.

Non-fiction

 * Clockmaker of Souls: A study of Paul-Jean Toulet. C. Kendall, 1933.
 * Archibald Lampman. 1934.
 * The White Savannahs. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1936;
 * reprinted as The White Savannahs The First Study of Canadian Poetry from a Modern Viewpoint. University of Toronto Press, 1975.
 * French-Canadian Letters. 1945.