author
Charles Sangster
1822–1893
A major early Canadian poet, he helped turn the landscapes and rivers of Canada into literary subjects at a time when the country's voice was still taking shape. His best-known work blends Romantic style with a strong feeling for place.
1 Audiobook
Hesperus and Other Poems and Lyrics
by Charles Sangster
About the author
Born near Kingston, Upper Canada, in 1822, Charles Sangster worked in the Ordnance Department before moving into journalism. He later served as editor or subeditor for newspapers including the Amherstburg Courier, the British Whig, and the Daily News, and from 1868 to 1886 he worked in the Post Office Department in Ottawa.
Sangster is remembered as one of the most important poets of pre-Confederation Canada. He became especially known for writing about Canadian scenery and subjects, with books such as The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay (1856) and Hesperus and Other Poems and Lyrics (1860). His work helped establish the idea that Canada's own landscapes and history were worthy themes for poetry.
Although his reputation faded for a time after his death in Kingston in 1893, later critics and literary historians restored his place in Canadian literature. He is still valued as a writer who gave early Canadian poetry a stronger sense of national setting and identity.