It took the sea an hour one night,
An hour of storm to place
The sculpture of these granite seams
Upon a woman's face.

~ E.J. Pratt

E.J. Pratt is one of the most celebrated poets in Canadian history, though he is not associated with any particular movement of poetry.  Instead, the writer’s focus seemed to be the mapping of Canadian and world history through narrative poems.

His upbringing in Newfoundland, on the east coast of Canada, is reflected in many of his works, including the poem above, which tells of the sea’s capacity to both give and take life.  His collection, “Newfoundland Verse”, which was published in 1923, proved to be his “breakthrough work” and it came complete with illustrations by Group of Seven painter Frederick Varley.  The photo above is the illustration by Varley that ends the book.

Other themes that Pratt worked with include evolution, anti-war messages (his most famous being “The Fable of the Goats”, published in 1937), the work of Christian missionaries (particularly that of Jean de Brébeuf and his seven Jesuits followers, known as the “North American Martyrs” to the Hurons in the 1600s), and the building of Canada’s first transcontinental railroad, in “Towards the Last Spike”.  Each of these three works earned him Governor General’s Awards.

His poem "The Truant", which places man in judgment for having destroyed the process of evolution, was called “the greatest poem in Canadian literature” by the influential literary critic, Northrop Frye.

Pratt’s poems were often timely, especially during World War II, and spoke of violence and patriotism. “Dunkirk”, published in 1941, recounts the historic rescue of British forces from France, as well as Churchill’s stirring words initiating the evacuation.  “The Radio in the Ivory Tower” speaks of the impossibility of staying immune from world news, while his 1945 book, “They Are Returning”, anticipates the end of the war and is one of the first pieces of literature to talk about concentration camps.

In addition to his many awards, a library at the University of Toronto (at which he taught) bears his name and the university also bestows the E.J. Pratt Medal and Prize for poetry, which has been awarded to many famous Canadian poets like Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje.