A short look at the life and career of a woman who, in her short life, brought forth poems that deserve a place in Canada's literary heritage.
Poet Isabella Valancy Crawford,
the sixth child of Dr.Stephen Dennis Crawford and Sidney Scott Crawford, was born in 1850 in Dublin, Ireland, and emigrated to Canada with her family in 1857...settling in the village of Paisley, Ontario, where her father became the town's physician. Sadly, he was an alcoholic, and it was said that he embezzled town funds, necessitating a further move in 1861 to Lakefield, in the Kawartha Lake district. Apparently things did not go well for him in Lakefield, and once again he moved the family to Peterborough, Ontario, where he died in 1875, leaving Isabella to take care of her invalid mother financially.
Paisley, Ontario
Of her time in Paisley Maud Wheeler Wilson wrote: "Their children's education was conducted by both Dr. and Mrs. Crawford. The girls were carefully grounded in Latin, as well as in the English branches. They spoke French readily and were conversant with the good literature of the day, Isabella especially being an omnivorous reader, fondest of history and of verse, and claiming Dante as her favorite poet."
Catherine Parr Trail
who with her sister Susanna Moodie comprised two of Canada's finest writers of pioneer experiences, was quick to encourage Isabella to write during the time she lived in Lakefield. Crawford slowly began sending articles and poems to newspapers such as The Toronto Evening Telegram and The Toronto Globe and Mail. Her work was well received and she was published in both papers, as well as in some American journals.
Old Spookses' Pass
her first and only book of verse was published in 1884 by James Bain and Son, Toronto. The book received critical acclaim in both the Canadian and British newspapers but unfortunately brought little to Isabella in the way of fame or financial success. She and her mother were living frugally in boarding houses on Shuter Street and Adelaide Street West in downtown Toronto, but in 1885 they were able to move to a third-floor flat at the corner of John and King Streets.
Dr.John Irwin Crawford, Isabella's uncle and a member of the Royal Navy, regularly sent a small quarterly allowance to the family. Appreciative of this kindness, Isabella dedicated her book of verse, Old Spookses' Pass to him. Isabella Valancy Crawford, a fine poet who was not recognized in her lifetime, died of heart failure on February 12, 1887.
The Camp of Souls
The following lines are from her poem entitled "The Camp of Souls,"
And love is a cord woven out of life,
And dyed in the red of the living heart:
And time is the hunter's rusty knife,
That cannot cut the red strands apart;
And I sail from the spirit shore to scan
Where the weaving of that strong cord began.
Source: Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850-1870 ) by John Garvin, (1859-1935), from "Canadian Poets", Toronto, Canada: McClelland , Goodchild & Stewart, Publishers, 1916.
For further reading about Canadians in the arts see:
Dramatic Soprano Gerda Nielsen
