author
Wilson MacDonald
1880–1967
A celebrated Canadian poet and magnetic performer, Wilson MacDonald turned poetry readings into lively public events across Canada and the northern United States. His best-known collection, Out of the Wilderness, helped make him one of the country’s most popular poets in the 1920s.
1 Audiobook
The Miracle Songs of Jesus
by Wilson MacDonald
About the author
Wilson Pugsley MacDonald was born on May 5, 1880, in Cheapside, Ontario, and died in Toronto on April 8, 1967. He studied at McMaster University, graduating in 1902, and began publishing poetry while still a student. Before becoming a full-time poet, he worked a wide range of jobs, including teaching, reporting, acting, and banking.
MacDonald built his reputation through energetic readings in cities, towns, and schools across Canada and the northern United States. Onstage, his shy nature gave way to a dynamic performance style in which he hummed, chanted, and sang his poems. He also sold and sometimes illustrated his own books, helping him earn a living from poetry alone.
His first collection, The Song of the Prairie Land, appeared in 1918, followed by works including The Miracle Songs of Jesus, Out of the Wilderness, and The Lyric Year. Out of the Wilderness was his most popular book, going through ten editions, and a memorial school museum in Haldimand County, Ontario, preserves his memory.