Bliss Carman

Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 1861, Bliss Carman became one of the best-known poets of his generation and is now grouped with the Confederation Poets. He studied at the University of New Brunswick and later at Edinburgh and Harvard, building a literary life that connected Canada, New England, and the wider English-speaking world.

Carman spent much of his adult life in the United States, where his writing found a large audience. He published many books of poetry, including Low Tide on Grand Pré, the Songs from Vagabondia volumes written with Richard Hovey, and Sappho, a distinctive reimagining of the ancient Greek poet. His work often turns to nature, freedom, travel, love, and spiritual feeling, with a musical style that helped make him widely admired.

In his later years, Carman was often described as Canada’s poet laureate, even though that was not yet an official national office. He died in New Canaan, Connecticut, in 1929, but his reputation remained strong in Canada, where he is still read as an important figure in the country’s literary history.