author
1827–1906
Remembered as the "Cheese Poet," this Scottish-born Canadian writer turned everyday local life into earnest, memorable verse. His poems celebrated Canada’s landscapes, communities, and dairy culture with a voice that was sincere, lively, and hard to forget.
James McIntyre was a poet born in Scotland in 1828 who later made his life in Canada. He became especially known for writing about ordinary Canadian experience, including farming, local history, nature, and national pride.
He is best remembered by the nickname "the Cheese Poet," a reference to the poems that praised cheese-making and the dairy industry around Ingersoll, Ontario. That nickname has kept him famous long after his lifetime, partly because readers have found his work both affectionate and unintentionally funny.
McIntyre published collections including Musings on the Banks of the Canadian Thames and Poems of James McIntyre. He died in 1906, and his work still stands out as a curious, charming piece of literary history.