author
John Reade
1837–1919
An Irish-born writer who made his life in Montreal, he became one of the best-known literary voices in Canada in the late 19th century. Best remembered for his long work at the Montreal Gazette, he also wrote poetry and essays that helped shape the country's early literary culture.
1 Audiobook
The Prophecy of Merlin, and Other Poems
by John Reade
About the author
Born in Ballyshannon, Ireland, on November 13, 1837, John Reade emigrated to Canada in 1856 and settled in Montreal. While still very young, he threw himself into literary life, helping launch the Montreal Literary Magazine and quickly building a reputation as a poet, essayist, and man of letters.
Reade also spent part of his early career in education and the Anglican ministry, but journalism became his lasting home. He is best known as the literary editor of the Montreal Gazette, a role he held for nearly 50 years. In that position, he became an important figure in Canadian cultural life and was once described as the "grand old man of Canadian letters."
His writing ranged from poetry to criticism, and his best-known books include The Prophecy of Merlin and Other Poems. Reade died in Montreal on March 26, 1919, leaving behind a career closely tied to the growth of Canadian literature in the 19th and early 20th centuries.