Timeline of Canadian poetry

This Timeline of Canadian poetry contains significant events in the history of Canadian poetry in English, mostly first publications of books, from the beginning until 2000. The list has been limited to 3 books per year.

17th century
1628: First published poetry written in Canada: Quodlibets / Robert Hayman, governor of Newfoundland

18th century
1786: Hymns and Spiritual Songs / Henry Alline

1788: First poem published in Canada: Annapolis-Royal (pamphlet) / Roger Viets

1791: Quebec Hill; or, Canadian scenery / J. Mackay

19th century
1825: First collection by a Canadian-born author: The Rising Village / Oliver Goldsmith

1828: Tecumseh / John Richardson

1834: The Rising Village, with other poems / Oliver Goldsmith

1843: Miscellaneous Poems / George William Gillespie

1846: The Spirit of Love, and other poems / Alexander McLachlan

1850: The Ojibway Conquest / George Copway

1853: poems in The Frontier Missionary / Jacob Bailey

1855: Sonnets / Charles Heavysege

1856: Poems / Alexander McLachlan


 * The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay, and other poems / Charles Sangster

1857: Saul: A drama in verse / Charles Heavysege

1858: Canadian Ballads, and occasional verses / Thomas D'Arcy McGee
 * Lyrics / Alexander McLachlan

1860: Hesperus, and other poems and lyrics / Charles Sangster


 * The Loyal Verses / Joseph Stansbury & Jonathan Odell

1861: The Emigrant, and other poems / Alexander McLachlan

1863: Voices from the Hearth / Isidore G. Ascher

1864: The Dark Huntsman: A dream / Charles Heavysege

1865: Jephthah's Daughter - Charles Heavysege

1868: Dreamland, and other poems / Charles Mair

1869: The Poems / Thomas D'Arcy McGee

1874: Poems and Essays / Joseph Howe

1879: The Prophecy of Merlin, and other poems / John Reade

1880: Orion, and other poems / Charles G.D. Roberts

1881: Poems of the Heart and Home / Pamelia Vining Yule

1884: The Emigrant Mechanic, and other tales in verse / Thomas Cowherd
 * Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems / Isabella Valancy Crawford

1885: Justin, and other poems / Frederick George Scott
 * Musings on the Bank of Canadian Thames / James McIntyre

1886: Tecumseh: A drama; and Canadian poems / Charles Mair 1888: Among the Millet, and other poems / Archibald Lampman
 * In Divers Tones / Charles G.D. Roberts

1889: Lake Lyrics, and other poems / William Wilfred Campbell]
 * The Soul's Quest, and other poems / Frederick George Scott
 * Poems of James McIntyre / James McIntyre

1891: Canada, and other poems / John Frederic Herbin 1893: The Dread Voyage Poems / William Wilfred Campbell 1894: Low Tide on Grand Pre / Bliss Carman 1895: The White Wampum / Pauline Johnson 1896: The Book of the Native / Charles G.D. Roberts 1897: Ballads of Lost Haven / Bliss Carman 1898: By the Aurelian Wall, and other elegies / Bliss Carman 1899: Northland Lyrics / William Carman Roberts, Theodore Goodridge Roberts, & Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald
 * Pine, Rose, and Fleur de Lis / Seranus
 * Songs of the Common Day / Charles G.D. Roberts
 * The Magic House, and other poems / Duncan Campbell Scott
 * My Lattice, and other poems / Frederick George Scott
 * Lyrics of Earth / Archibald Lampman
 * The House of the Trees, and other poems / Ethelwyn Wetherald
 * Matins / Francis Sherman
 * In Memorabilia Mortis / Francis Sherman
 * The Habitant, and other French-Canadian poems / William Henry Drummond
 * The Unnamed Lake, and other poems / Frederick George Scott
 * In the Shadows / Pauline Johnson
 * Labour and the Angel / Duncan Campbell Scott

1900: Beyond the Hills of Dream / William Wilfred Campbell
 * The Poems of Archibald Lampman / Archibald Lampman

20th century
1901: Johnnie Courteau, and other poems / William Henry Drummond

1902: From the Book of Myths / Bliss Carman 1903: From the Green Book of the Bards / Bliss Carman 1904: :Sappho: One hundred lyrics / Bliss Carman 1905: From the Book of Valentines / Bliss Carman 1906: Songs and Sonnets / Helena Coleman
 * Tangled in Stars / Ethelwyn Wetherald
 * Canadian Born / Pauline Johnson
 * The Book of the Rose / Charles G.D. Roberts
 * New World Lyrics and Ballads / Duncan Campbell Scott
 * The Radiant Road / Ethelwyn Wetherald
 * The Poems of Wilfred Campbell / William Wilfred Campbell
 * Collected Poems / Isabella Valency Crawford
 * A Hymn of Empire, and other poems / Frederick George Scott

1907: Songs of a Sourdough / Robert Service

1908: Poetical Tragedies / William Wilfred Campbell 1909: Lonesome Bar, A romance of the lost, and other poems / Tom McInnes 1910: In Amber Lands / Tom McInnes
 * The Last Robin: Lyrics and sonnets / Ethelwyn Wetherald
 * The Rough Rider, and other poems / Bliss Carman
 * Ballads of a Cheechako / Robert Service
 * Songs in Time's Despite / James Lewis Milligan

1912: Poetical Works / William Henry Drummond In Northern Skies, and other poems / Seranus 1913: Flint and Feather: The complete poems / Pauline Johnson 1914: Sagas of Vaster Britain / William Wilfred Campbell
 * Rhymes of a Rolling Stone / Robert Service
 * Rhymes of a Rounder / Tom McInnes
 * The Drift of Pinions / Marjorie Pickthall

1915: John McCrae composes "In Flanders Fields"
 * His Lady of the Sonnet / Robert Norwood
 * The Gates of Time, and other poems / Frederick George Scott

1916: The Lamp of Poor Souls, and other poems / Marjorie Pickthall 1917: Marching Men: War verses / Helena Coleman 1918: The Song of the Prairie Land, and other poems / Wilson MacDonald 1919: Poems: Lyrics and sonnets / Ethelwyn Wetherald 1920: The Beckoning Skyline, and other poems / James Lewis Milligan
 * Lundy's Lane, and other poems / Duncan Campbell Scott
 * Rhymes of a Red Cross Man / Robert Service
 * A Canadian Twilight, and other poems of war and peace / Bernard Freeman Trotter
 * The Fool of Joy / Tom MacInnes
 * In Flanders Fields, and other poems / John McCrae
 * New Poems / Charles G.D. Roberts

1921: Beauty and Life / Duncan Campbell Scott 1922: The Woodcarver's Wife, and later poems / Marjorie Pickthall
 * Ballads of a Bohemian / Robert Service

1923: Poetical Works / William Wilfred Campbell 1925: Far Horizons / Bliss Carman 1926: Later Poems / Bliss Carman 1927: The Iron Door: An ode / E.J. Pratt 1928: Green Pitcher / Dorothy Livesay 1929: Collected Poems / Isidore G. Ascher 1930: The Roosevelt and the Antinoe / E.J. Pratt
 * Isabella Valancy Crawford / Isabella Valancy Crawford
 * Newfoundland Verse / E.J. Pratt
 * The Sweet o' the Year, and other poems / Charles G.D. Roberts
 * Songs of Love and Labour / Seranus
 * Out of the Wilderness / Wilson MacDonald
 * In Sun and Shade: A book of verse / Frederick George Scott
 * The Vagrant of Time / Charles G.D. Roberts
 * Later Poems and New Villanelles / Seranus
 * Sanctuary: The Sunshine House sonnets / Bliss Carman
 * Wild Garden / Bliss Carman
 * Laconics / W.W.E. Ross

1931: A Flagon of Beauty / Wilson MacDonald

1932: Signpost / Dorothy Livesay 1933: The Shrouding / Leo Kennedy 1934: Windward I Rock / Kenneth Leslie 1935: The Titanic / E.J. Pratt 1936: New Provinces (anthology) 1937: Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama first awarded
 * The Naiad, and other poems / Marjorie Pickthall
 * Sonnets / W.W.E. Ross
 * Selected Poems / Frederick George Scott
 * Penelope, and other poems / Seranus
 * The Iceberg, and other poems / Charles G.D. Roberts
 * The Leather Bottle / Theodore Goodridge Roberts
 * The Green Cloister: Later poems / Duncan Campbell Scott
 * Complete Poems / Francis Sherman
 * Complete Poems (2nd edition) / Marjorie Pickthall
 * Selected Poems / Charles G.D. Roberts

1938: By Stubborn Stars / Kenneth Leslie
 * Songs / Helena Coleman
 * The Fable of the Goats, and other poems / E.J. Pratt

1939: Under the Sun / Arthur S. Bourinot

1940: Hath Not a Jew...? / A.M. Klein
 * The Wind Our Enemy / Anne Marriott
 * Brebeuf and His Brethren / E.J. Pratt

1941: Calling Adventurers / Anne Marriott

1942: David, and other poems / Earle Birney 1943: At the Long Sault, and other new poems / Archibald Lampman
 * Saltmarsh / Anne Marriott
 * Still Life, and other verse / E.J. Pratt
 * News of the Phoenix, and other poems / A.J.M. Smith

1944: Unit of Five (anthology)
 * Day and Night / Dorothy Livesay

1945: Now is Time / Earle Birney 1946: East of the City / Louis Dudek
 * Here and Now / Irving Layton
 * Overture: Poems / F.R. Scott
 * Poems / Robert Finch

1947: Selected Poems / Archibald Lampman
 * As Ten, as Twenty / P.K. Page
 * Poems for People / Dorothy Livesay

1948: The Rocking Chair, and other poems / A.M. Klein
 * Behind the Log / E.J. Pratt

1949: Collected Poems / Raymond Knister
 * The Red Heart / James Reaney

1950: Of Time and the Lover / James Wreford

1951: The Mulgrave Road / Charles Bruce

1952: Trial of a City, and other poems / Earle Birney
 * The Black Huntsman / Irving Layton
 * Selected Poems / Duncan Campbell Scott
 * Cerberus / Louis Dudek, Irving Layton, & Raymond Souster
 * Toward the Last Spike / E.J. Pratt

1953: Love the Conqueror Worm / Irving Layton

1954: Europe / Louis Dudek
 * The Net and the Sword / Douglas LePan
 * The Metal and the Flower / P.K. Page

1955: The Blue Propellor / Irving Layton
 * A Sort of Ecstasy / A.J.M. Smith
 * New Poems / Dorothy Livesay
 * Friday's Child / Wilfred Watson

1956: Let Us Compare Mythologies / Leonard Cohen 1957: Selected Poems, 1926-1956 / Dorothy Livesay 1958: En Mexico / Louis Dudek
 * The Bull Calf, and other poems / Irving Layton
 * Experiment, 1923-1929 / W.W.E. Ross
 * The Boatman, and other poems / Jay Macpherson
 * The Lake of Souls, and other poems / Harold Standish


 * A Suit of Nettles / James Reaney

1959: A Red Carpet for the Sun / Irving Layton

1960: Winter Sun / Margaret Avison

1961: The Spice Box of Earth / Leonard Cohen 1962: Poems for All the Annettes / Al Purdy 1963: Sepass Tales: The songs of Y-Ail-Mihth / K'HHalserten Sepass 1964: Flowers for Hitler / Leonard Cohen
 * Acis in Oxford, and other poems / Robert Finch
 * Collected Poems / A.J.M. Smith
 * Balls for a One-Armed Juggler / Irving Layton
 * The Rising Fire / Gwendolyn MacEwen

1965: The Wooden Horse / Daryl Hine 1966: The Circle Game / Margaret Atwood 1967: Bread, Wine, and Salt / Alden Nowlan 1968: The Animals in that Country / Margaret Atwood 1969: The Gangs of Kosmos / George Bowering 1970: The Journals of Susanna Moodie / Margaret Atwood
 * The Colour of the Times / Raymond Souster
 * Collected Poems / Irving Layton
 * The Cariboo Horses / Al Purdy
 * Parasites of Heaven / Leonard Cohen
 * The Glass Trumpet / Miriam Waddington
 * Cry Ararat! Poems new and selected / P.K. Page
 * Poems: New and collected / A.J.M. Smith
 * Selected Poems, 1956-1968 / Leonard Cohen
 * The Documentaries: Selected longer poems / Dorothy Livesay
 * Rocky Mountain Foot / George Bowering
 * The Shadowmaker / Gwendolyn MacEwen
 * Rag and Bone Shop / Earle Birney
 * The Collected Works of Billy the Kid / Michael Ondaatje

1971: Collected Poetry / Louis Dudek 1972: The Energy of Slaves / Leonard Cohen 1973: Power Politics / Margaret Atwood 1974: Fire on Stone / Ralph Gustafson 1975 - The Island Means Minago / Milton Acorn 1976 - Lampman's Sonnets / Archibald Lampman 1977 - Hugh and Ion / Isabella Valancy Crawford 1978 - sunblue / Margaret Avison 1979 - There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems, 1963-1978 / Michael Ondaatje
 * Selected Poems / John Glassco
 * The Poems of Kenneth Leslie / Kenneth Leslie
 * Civil Elegies, and other poems / Dennis Lee
 * Lies / John Newlove
 * Lovers and Lesser Men / Irving Layton
 * Lions at Her Face / Miriam Mandel
 * Sex and Death / Al Purdy
 * Welcoming Disaster: Poems, 1970-1974 / Jay Macpherson
 * Selected Poems / Louis Dudek
 * Resident Alien / Daryl Hine
 * For My Brother Jesus / Irving Layton
 * Top Soil / Joe Rosenblatt
 * Under the Thunder the Flowers Light up the Earth / D.G. Jones
 * The Poems of Irving Layton / Irving Layton
 * Death of a Lady's Man / Leonard Cohen
 * Poems New and Selected / Patrick Lane
 * Countryside Canada / James Wreford

1980 - Selected Poems / Daryl Hine
 * McAlman's Chinese Opera / Stephen Scobie

1981: Governor General's Award for English language poetry first awarded 1982: The T.E. Lawrence Poems / Gwendolyn MacEwen 1983: Snake Poems / Margaret Atwood
 * True Stories / Margaret Atwood
 * Collected Poems / F.R. Scott
 * Earth-Light: Selected poetry, 1963-1982 / Gwendolyn MacEwen
 * The Vision Tree: Selected poems / Phyllis Webb

1984: Interlunar / Margaret Atwood 1985: The Glass Air: Poems selected and new / P.K. Page 1987: Weathering It: Complete poems, 1948-1987 / Douglas LePan
 * Settlements / David Donnell
 * Book of Mercy / Leonard Cohen
 * Celestial Navigation / Paulette Jiles
 * Powassan's Drum: Selected poems / Duncan Campbell Scott
 * Waiting for Saskatchewan / Fred Wah
 * Afterworlds / Gwendolyn MacEwen

1988: Furious / Erin Mouré 1989: No Time / Margaret Avison
 * That Far River: Selected poems / Theodore Goodridge Roberts
 * The Word for Sand / Heather Spears
 * 1990: Selected Poems / A.M. Klein
 * Selected Poetry / Archibald Lampman
 * Far Voyages / Douglas LePan

1991: *Last Makings: Poems / Earle Birney 1992: Inventing the Hawk / Lorna Crozier
 * Night Field / Don McKay
 * The Cinnamon Peeler: Selected poems / Michael Ondaatje

1993: Stranger Music: Selected poems and songs / Leonard Cohen 1994: Cantos from a Small Room / Robert Hilles 1995: Morning in the Burned House / Margaret Atwood
 * Forests of the Medeival World / Don Coles
 * Hologram: A book of glosas / P.K. Page
 * Naked with Summer in Your Mouth / Al Purdy

1996: Apostrophes: Woman at a piano / E.D. Blodgett
 * Voice / Anna Szumigalski

1997: Not Yet But Still / Margaret Avison 1998: Eating Fire: Selected poetry, 1965-1995 / Margaret Atwood 1999: Songs for Relinquishing the Earth / Jan Zwicky 2000: Another Gravity / Don McKay
 * Land to Light On / Dionne Brand
 * The Hidden Room: Collected poems / P.K. Page
 * White Stone: The Alice poems / Stephanie Bolster
 * Archive for our Time: Previously uncollected and unpublished poems / Dorothy Livesay
 * Beyond Remembering: Collected poems / Al Purdy