author

Anna K. (Anna Kelsey) Howard

A 19th-century Canadian educator and compiler, remembered for creating a practical guide to reading aloud and public speaking. Her surviving work points to a writer interested in clear expression, recitation, and self-instruction.

1 Audiobook

The Canadian Elocutionist Designed for the Use of Colleges, Schools and Self Instruction, Together with a Copious Selection in Prose and Poetry of Pieces Adapted for Reading, Recitation and Practice

The Canadian Elocutionist Designed for the Use of Colleges, Schools and Self Instruction, Together with a Copious Selection in Prose and Poetry of Pieces Adapted for Reading, Recitation and Practice

by Anna K. (Anna Kelsey) Howard

About the author

Anna K. Howard, also listed as Anna Kelsey Howard and Anna Halleck Kelsey, is known for The Canadian Elocutionist, published in Toronto in 1885. The book was designed for colleges, schools, and self-instruction, combining guidance on spoken delivery with a large selection of prose and poetry for reading and recitation.

The record that survives online is fairly slim, but it suggests she was part of the late 19th-century world of education and oratory training in Canada. Her work reflects a time when elocution was treated as an essential skill for students, teachers, and public speakers.

Because so little biographical information is readily confirmed, her book remains the clearest window into her legacy. It has stayed accessible through major public-domain archives, giving modern readers a look at how speech, performance, and classroom learning were taught in her era.