author
Wilfred Campbell
d. 1918
A Canadian poet and writer linked with the Confederation Poets, he became especially known for nature lyrics that celebrate the landscapes of Ontario and the Lake Huron–Georgian Bay region. He also worked as a clergyman and later as a civil servant, writing across poetry, fiction, drama, and criticism.
3 Audiobooks
The Dread Voyage: Poems
by Wilfred Campbell
Mordred and Hildebrand: A Book of Tragedies
by Wilfred Campbell
Beyond the Hills of Dream
by Wilfred Campbell
About the author
William Wilfred Campbell was a Canadian poet, novelist, dramatist, and essayist who died on January 1, 1918, in Ottawa. Reliable reference sources describe him as part of the group often called the Confederation Poets, alongside writers such as Charles G. D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, Archibald Lampman, and Duncan Campbell Scott.
He was born in what is now Ontario and studied for the ministry before serving as an Anglican clergyman. After leaving church work, he spent much of his later career as a civil servant in Ottawa while continuing to publish widely. His best-known book is Lake Lyrics and Other Poems (1889), remembered for its vivid, musical writing about Canadian nature.
Campbell was a versatile figure in early Canadian literature, producing not only poetry but also novels, verse drama, travel writing, and criticism. Though critics have often placed him a little outside the front rank of his better-known contemporaries, his work remains an important part of the story of how Canadian poetry found a distinctive voice in English.