Description and Finding Aid

MILTON T. WILSON FONDS F2017

Prepared by Celia Schmidt, 2011 Revised by Celia Schmidt, 2012

TRINITY COLLEGE  6 HOSKIN AVENUE, TORONTO, ON, CANADA M5S 1H8  WWW.TRINITY.UTORONTO.CA [email protected] 416 978-2019

Wilson fonds

MILTON T. WILSON FONDS

Dates of creation: 1941–1996

Extent: 55 cm of textual records

Biographical sketch: Milton Thomas Wilson, a scholar of Romantic poetry and an editor of Canadian Forum, was born in Toronto in 1923 to Mr and Mrs G. S. Wilson. He attended St Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario. In 1940, Wilson began studying English at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, but he interrupted his education in 1943 to serve in the Canadian navy during the Second World War. He returned to Toronto to obtain his BA and MA degrees in 1945 and 1946 respectively. After teaching briefly at the University of Syracuse, he was appointed lecturer at Trinity College in 1949. He completed a PhD at Columbia University in 1957. He became full professor at Trinity College in 1966 and professor emeritus in 1988. In 1975, Wilson became the first chair of the University of Toronto Department of English. (The English departments of the colleges at the University of Toronto had previously merged together under the direction of a committee of which Wilson was also chair.) Wilson worked as literary editor (1954-59) and managing editor (1959-68) of Canadian Forum. Among his publications are Shelley's Later Poetry (1959, republished 1974) and E. J. Pratt (1969). He is the editor of Poetry of Mid-Century (1964) and Poets Between the Wars (1967). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Wilson married Joanna Crawford, daughter of Mr and Mrs John Knox Crawford, on 6 September 1947.They had six children: Barbara, Katharine, Gregory, Victoria, Timothy, and Antony. Professor Wilson died in Toronto on 22 March 2013.

Scope and content: Fonds consists of records relating to Dr Wilson’s academic career, publications, and administrative role in the departments of English at Trinity College and the University of Toronto as well as correspondence, including poetry, relating to his position as editor of Canadian Forum.

Contains series 1. Literary correspondence 2. Academic work 3. Trinity College and University of Toronto Departments of English 4. Publications

2

Wilson fonds

Notes:

Acquisition history: The records contained in the first and second boxes were received from Dr Wilson by Linda Corman, head librarian of the Trinity College John W. Graham Library, who transferred them to the Archives on 15 November 1991 (accession 1991-0018), with the exception of the Series 3 records in the second box. The latter were located in the Archives and accessioned (no. 2009-0003) by the Archivist in 2009; their provenance is unknown. The records contained in the third, fourth, and fifth boxes were found in the Professors Emeritus office by the Rolph-Bell Archivist, Sylvia Lassam, in October 2012, and were immediately transferred to the archives (accession 2013-21).

Arrangement: With the exception of the Series 3 material in the second box and the Irving Layton and Al Purdy files, for all of which original order was maintained, the original order of materials in the first two boxes is unknown; there was likely no apparent order. A chronological order within files in the first and second boxes was imposed sometime after 1991 by staff of the Trinity College Archives (with undated items at the end of each file). Arrangement of the folders in Series 1 in alphabetical order by correspondent’s last name was also likely imposed by Archives staff. The folders in the third, fourth, and fifth boxes were arranged by series and then chronologically by C. Schmidt. Within folders, original order was maintained, though minor weeding and tidying was done. Two publications were removed from the 2012 accession and offered to the Trinity College John W. Graham Library: Lloyd Abbey’s The Antlered Boy (Oberon Press, 1984) and Criticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts (Vol. II, No. 2 – contains a review of Wilson’s Shelley’s Later Poetry by Richard Harter Fogle, pp. 214-216).

Restrictions on access: Some material in poor condition in the first and second boxes has been photocopied on acid-free paper and placed next to the original. Researchers are asked to avoid using the originals where photocopies exist. Some files are closed; see series-level access note.

Terms governing use and reproduction / publication: Various copyright holders. It is the researcher's responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds.

Associated material: Correspondence from Milton Wilson to Irving Layton, 1958-1969, is held at Concordia University. Photocopies of this correspondence are available in General Accession 2014-41.

Provenance access points Wilson, Milton T. (1923- )

3

Wilson fonds

SERIES 1: LITERARY CORRESPONDENCE

Dates of creation: [1955?] – [before 1991]

Extent: 11 cm of textual records

Scope and content: Correspondence, often regarding the submission or revision of poetry for the Canadian Forum. In addition to letters to Wilson, there are a substantial number of separate poems, mainly originals with the exception of a few photocopied items in one of the Layton files. The poems are often annotated by their respective authors, and there are sometimes several different versions of the same poems. It seems Wilson kept few copies of his replies to his correspondents, but there are some finished, as well as drafted, replies.

FOLDER/UNIT START END CONTENTS BOX/ TITLE DATE DATE FILE #

Canadian Forum 1956 1990 Correspondence with Michael Bersensky, 3-1 James Angus Brown, Chuck Carlson, A. F. B. Clark, Ralph Cunningham, Wynne Francis, Len Gasparini, Stanley Godlovitch, George Johnston, Douglas V. LePan, L. A. Mackay, Robin Mathews, D. W. M. McFadden, Alan Pearson, Sam Solecki, Peter Stevens, George Walton (with poem “Panurge Replies”), Robert Weaver, David Wright, and Seymour [?].One drafted reply by Wilson. Also “Minutes of Shareholders’ Meeting of Canadian Forum Limited.”

Milton Acorn [1961?] [1968?] Letters to Wilson and poems: three 1-1 haikus, “Poem Written in a One-Tree Forest,” “In the Felt Rustle of Silence…,” “Wink in a Wee Window,” “The Crown of Thorns…,” “After Eluard…,” “Murat,” “Song the Fourth Musician, of…,” and “Barry”.

Patrick January January Letter to Wilson and a bound sample of 1-2 Anderson 1974 1974 shorter poems: “The Candles,” “Poem as Bird,” “An Essex Lake,” “Emily Dickinson At Work,” “An Owl,” “On First Getting Reading Glasses,” “The Mistake,” “On Buying London Paving Stones For The

4

Wilson fonds

Garden,” “The Mirror,” “Domestic,” “Drinker,” “The Ball,” “Rain Boy,” “The Analogical Net,” “A Car Passing,” “Draught of Fishes,” “Four Georgian Poems,” “Pools,” “Frisked!” “Memory of Lake Towns,” “Remembering Baie St Paul,” “Late At Night,” “A Garment Drowned,” “Dear Son,” “In Spring,” “Weather Talk,” “Chinese: Montreal,” “Outside The Supermarket,” “Railway Station: Wartime,” “The Dark Walk Home,” “By The Sea,” “A Simple Voice,” “A Hint,” “My Lady of Canada,” “Fragment From The School of Night,” “Morning; Laurentian Farm,” “Train Whistle; Vermont,” “from The Birth of Aphrodite,” “Family Quarrel,” “(Picasso),” “Statue,” “Winter in the Sticks,” “Glass Girl,” “Boy in Cachou Tree,” “A Geography,” “A Boy’s Pleasure,” and “Waking Up Poem”).

Margaret Avison 8 Sept 8 Sept Postcard to Wilson. 1-3 1962 1962

Margaret [1964?] [1964?] Letter to Wilson re: The Circle Game 1-4 Atwood and poem (“A Meal”).

Earle Birney 1964 1982 Letters to Wilson. 1-5 bill bissett [196-?] [196-?] Letters to Wilson and poems: “I cum 1-6 among yow to create divisions,” “NO ONE OWNS EARTH,” and “song for Ooljah.”

Fred Cogswell 1959 1965 Letters to Wilson and poem (“Watching 1-7 These Two Files”).

Leonard Cohen 24 Dec 24 Dec Letter to Wilson re: Canada Council 1-8 1958 1958 grant.

Victor Coleman 11 April 11 April Detroit Artists’ Workshop mailing sent 1-9 1965 1965 to Wilson by Coleman.

Chris Daboll 1979 1980 All untitled except “Self-Portrait.” 3-2

John Glassco 26 Oct 26 Oct Letter to Wilson re: petition against 1-10

5

Wilson fonds

1964 1964 French indictment of Glassco, Maurice Girodias, and Doug Beardsley for obscenity.

Phyllis Gotlieb 1967 1968 Two letters to Wilson. 1-11

Hugh Hood 27 April 27 April Letter to Wilson. 1-12 1964 1964

George Benson 1950s 1960s Letters to Wilson. 3-3 Johnston

Patrick Lane 1964 1966 Letters to Wilson. 1-13

Irving Layton – [1955?] [1974?] Originals of poems with commentary 1-14 sent to Francis (“Dining Out” and “As Seen Through A Mansbridge Glass Darkly”), a poem with handwritten revisions (“The Fool’s Song”), and letters to Wilson. The material in this file was sent by Wilson to Mansbridge, who was preparing an edition of Irving Layton’s letters, published as Wild Gooseberries (1989).

Irving Layton – 1985 1989 Letters to Wilson from Mansbridge re: 1-15 Francis edition of Irving Layton’s letters. Mansbridge

Irving Layton [1958?] [1960?] Letter from Wilson to the Canada 1-16 Council re: Senior Arts Fellowship, letters to Wilson, and poems, some with multiple versions and/or handwritten revisions: “A Bonnet for Bessie,” “In Praise of Benefactors,” “Trilliums After a Party,” “For a Dead Benefactor,” “Because My Calling is Such,” “My Flesh Comfortless,” “I Know the Dark and Hovering Moth,” “The Caged Bird,” and “The Song of Pincus.”

This file and the four that follow were likely originally one file, since separated by the Archivist.

Irving Layton [1960?] [1961?] Newspaper articles by or about Layton 1-17 sent by him to Wilson, letters to and from Wilson, and poems, some with

6

Wilson fonds

multiple versions and/or handwritten notes: “Peace of Mind,” “Why Gurus Have Grey Eyebrows,” “An Anagram For Ben Beutel,” “Dining Out,” “The Third Book of Chronicles,” “The Convertible,” “Prizes,” and “A Tall Man Executes a Jig.”

Irving Layton [1962?] [1963?] Newspaper articles about Layton sent 1-18 by him to Wilson, letters to and from Wilson, and poems “Lester Pearson,” “Looselips,” “Red Square,” “Ehrenberg and Collective Leadership,” “Free Djilas,” “Epigram For Roy Daniels,” “Androgyne,” “Diversion,” “Aftermath,” “My Queen, My Quean,” “Ambivalency,” and, with handwritten revisions, “I Overheard A Madman Say.”

Irving Layton [1964?] [1968?] Newspaper articles by Layton sent by 1-19 him to Wilson, letters to and from Wilson, and poems, some with handwritten notes: “Lust,” “Courtesies of Love,” “The Worm,” “Freedom,” “Creation,” “Reply to a Rhyming Notary,” “Their Eyes, Their Glittering Eyes,” “For My Two Sons, Max and David,” “As Seen Through A Glass Darkly,” and “Devil in Utopia.”

Irving Layton [1969?] [before Letter to Wilson and poems, some 1-20 1991] photocopies and some with handwritten annotations: “Yesterday,” “Requiescat,” “R I P,” “Ohms,” “Satan in Utopia,” “As Seen Through a Glass Darkly,” “Grey Morning in Lisbon,” “In Memoriam,” “Paul Verlaine,” “July 21, 1969,” “Epigram on Ireland,” “To the Priest Who Kept My Wife Awake All Night, Farting,” “Marxist,” “Hidden Worlds,” “Snowdrift,” “Christos- Dionysos,” “Dreadnaught 52 Pickup 28,” “The Sinner,” and “Epigram for Roy Daniells”

While some of the above poems were evidently photocopied before they were sent to Wilson (likely, therefore, before

7

Wilson fonds

1968, when Wilson stopped editing Canadian Forum), others could be photocopies of originals received by Wilson, which could date as late as 1991, when Wilson donated these records to the Trinity College Archives.

Dennis Lee [ca. 1963] [1967] Two letters to Wilson and poem 1-21 “Second Elegy.”

Dorothy Livesay 1966 1967 Letters to Wilson and poem, with 1-22 handwritten title, “Fork Lake.” Poems sent to J. [1960s?] [1960s?] Two poems by Wilson sent to J.M.: “The 3-4 M. Beauty of Noah’s Sons” and “Janus and Orpheus.”

Gwendolyn [1967] [1967] Letter to Wilson. 1-23 MacEwen

Eli Mandel [1959] [1969] Letters to Wilson. 1-24

Robin Mathews 1963 1968 Letters to Wilson, one with a sketch. 3-5

Alden Nowlan 1959 1966 Letters to Wilson. 1-25

Michael 8 Nov 8 Nov Letter to Wilson. 1-26 Ondaatje 1967 1967

Alan Pearson 1963 1970 Letters, clippings, and poems “Sale,” 3-6 “Bus Ride,” “Ode to a Shy Mistress,” and “April.”

Louis Presner 9 April 9 April Letter to Wilson. 1-27 (?) 1964 1964

Al Purdy [1959] [1970] Letters to and from Wilson. Wilson’s 1-28 report for Purdy’s Guggenheim Fellowship application. Poems, some with different versions and/or handwritten notes: “The Study of Islands,” “Number Please?,” “One Place to Another,” “Sergeant Jackson,” “I Think It Was Wednesday,” “Love At Roblin Lake,” “Hymie’s Hymn,” “Poem For One of the Annettes,” “Winter Walking,” and “Doggerel.”

8

Wilson fonds

James Reaney 1960 1961 Letters to Wilson. 1-29

Joe Rosenblatt 1965 1967 Letters to Wilson. 1-30

F.R. Scott 9 Oct 9 Oct Letter to Wilson re: Wilson’s anthology 1-31 1965 1965 Poets Between the Wars.

Arthur J. M. 11 Dec 11 Dec Letter to Wilson. 3-7 Smith 1956 1956

Arthur J. M. 1963 1970 Letters to and from Wilson. Includes a 1-32 Smith short poem to Wilson (“Lines Written on Reading His Verses ‘To Hold in a Poem’ in a School Anthology”) and a poem by Wilson in response (“How Not to Hold a Poem: A Reviewer’s Self-Elegy”).

Peter Stevens 1965 1968 Letters to Wilson. 3-8

Scott Symons [After 15 [After 15 Annotated list of Symons material in the 1-35 papers August August Trinity College Library rare book 1971] 1971] collection.

Notes on Scott [1970s?] [1970s?] “Assorted comments, queries, 3-9 Symons’ MS arguments, and notes.” Photocopy.

Miriam 1959 1965 Two letters to Wilson. 1-33 Waddington

SERIES 2: ACADEMIC WORK

Dates of creation: 1941-1996

Extent: 14 cm of textual records

Scope and content: Series includes essays, papers, articles, and lectures prepared by Wilson for conferences, publications, and other occasions. Some correspondence and some rough notes. In a few instances, multiple versions of a single piece of academic work exist.

FOLDER/UNIT TITLE START END CONTENTS BOX/

9

Wilson fonds

DATE DATE FILE #

Very early essays 1941 1953 Undergraduate, graduate, and a public 3-10 lecture.

Assorted papers & 1958 1979 As described by folder title: assorted 3-11 talks & appraisals, papers, talks, and appraisals (and reviews radio & TV of musical performances and more) for programs radio and TV programs. Too plentiful to describe in detail.

Papers, etc, related [1960s] [1970s] “Myth and Fact in Byron,” “The Byronic 3-12 to Romantic poetry Hero: Some Proposals,” “Some Senses of the Sublime in Romantic Poetry,” “From Rome to Constantinople,” notes on Jacob Bryant’s “A Dissertation concerning the War of Troy,” and “Byron and Occupied Countries: The Double Agent as Revolutionary.” Some correspondence.

Trek for Drama ca. ca. 1969 A lecture titled “The Drama of the English 3-13 Centre 1965 Romantic Poets.”

Draft of Utopia talk 1970s? 1970s? “Talk on More’s Utopia.” Rough draft. 3-14

Some lectures from 1970s 1970s “Some Senses of the Sublime in Romantic 3-15 1970s Poetry” (delivered at ACUTE) and “The Literary Relations of Byron and Wordsworth” (delivered at Western).

The Venice of the [ca. [ca. Original drafts. Three chapters. 3-16 English Romantic 1970s] 1980s] Poets

Material related to 1981 or [1981 or “Wordsworthian Motion, Natural 3-17 Romantic 1982 1982 Philosophy and the Eighteenth-Century physiology project Reader” (“delivered to 18th Century Group”).

Keats paper 1982 1983 Correspondence regarding a lecture tour 3-18 to the Universities of Calgary, Regina, and Alberta. Wilson delivered the paper “Keats Expresses a Tale: Narrative Succession in Ode on a Grecian Urn and the Eve of St Agnes.”

Learning Unlimited 1982 1985 Correspondence and the lecture “The 4-1

10

Wilson fonds lecture Montreal Connection,” presented to “Learning Unlimited” and “Later Life Learning.”

Politics of 1987? 1987? A paper titled “Reading Locke and Newton 4-2 Perception & earlier as Literature” and a paper given at a U.C. versions of Locke- [University College?] conference: “The Newton paper Politics of Perception in The Prelude.” Also a program for a symposium sponsored by the University of Toronto Departments of English and Philosophy: “Philosophy as Literature / Literature as Philosophy.”

Waterloo paper as 1988 1991 Correspondence regarding a conference 4-3 delivered at in honour of Ross G. Woodman, Woodman “Romanticism in Canada,” and a related conference publication. Wilson contributed “Byron and the Battle of Waterloo.”

Waterloo article at 1988 1992 Correspondence regarding, and several 4-4 various stages & revisions of, the same paper described with various immediately above. correspondence

Callaghan afterword ca. ca. 1989 Wilson’s afterword for the New Canadian 4-5 1988 Library publication of Morley Callaghan’s Such is My Beloved.

Frye article 1992 1993 “Northrop Frye as Reviewer of Canadian 4-6 Poetry,” presented at the conference “The Legacy of Northrop Frye” at the Northrop Frye Centre at Victoria College.

Byron lecture 1995 1996 Papers “Byron as Historical Mythmaker” 4-7 and “Byron’s Comic Epic and Comic Language” presented at “Later Life Learning.”

Jay’s notes on [1960s] [1970s?] A mimeographed list of “grade XIII 4-8 Hampstead and howlers.” Wilson’s original folder John Petspew’s [?] identified these as “John Petspew’s” grade XIII howlers (surname somewhat illegible). Also letters to Wilson regarding Hampstead from “Jay.”

11

Wilson fonds

SERIES 3: TRINITY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO DEPARTMENTS OF ENGLISH

Dates of creation: 1958-1976

Extent: 23 cm of textual records

Scope and content: Series includes correspondence, class lists, course grades, schedules, and letters of reference. Also contains records of course registration and enrollment and the appointment of, and courses taught by, teaching staff in the Trinity College and/or University of Toronto Departments of English.

Notes:

Restrictions on access: Files 1-34, 1-36, 2-1, 2-3, and 2-4 contain personal information and so are closed until 2040.

FOLDER/UNIT TITLE START END CONTENTS BOX/ DATE DATE FILE #

Personal academic 1955 1990 Academic correspondence regarding 4-9 correspondence recommendations and the general administration of the Department of English (e.g. staffing). Also friendly letters among peers and students. Includes a letter from Marshall McLuhan. A few pieces relate to Trinity College.

Departmental 1958 1974 Lists of courses taught at Trinity, supplement 2-6 Reliques to calendar prescriptions, lecture schedules, and course and section enrollments.

Former Trinity 1959 1976 Letters to and from Trinity professors Richard 2-3 teaching staff Ewen, George Falle, Gordon Roper, and Milton Wilson regarding appointments and academic credentials.

Personal academic 1960 1987 Correspondence regarding appointments, 1-36 correspondence with recommendations, letters of reference, and Trinity relevance other topics.

Appointments 1965 1968 Academic credentials and correspondence 2-1 (special) regarding appointments.

12

Wilson fonds

Trinity English Dept. 1970 1974 Schedules, class lists, course grades, calendar 1-34 Documents: 1971- supplement, correspondence (mainly with 1974 English professors), list of course committees, and arrangements made with English departments at other colleges at the University of Toronto.

Trinity – scheduling 1974 1975 Course evaluation form, lists of courses 2-5 offered and not offered at Trinity, student directory of combined Depts of English, Trinity College Faculty of Arts Calendar, table of changes in ENG course numberings, important notice about final examinations, faculty codes, U of T Dept of English section enrolment report, and U of T Faculty of Arts & Science Course File Summary.

Registration + 1975 1976 Projected enrollment, lists of courses, U of T 2-2 enrollment Dept of English memoranda to discipline representatives, and registration and enrollment procedures (of both the Trinity and U of T Depts of English). Also, Dept of Philosophy Undergraduate Bulletin and list of courses potentially of interest to English students, U of T Faculty of Arts & Science Course File Summary, U of T Dept of Classics course listing, and Trinity College Faculty of Arts Calendar.

Registration 1975 1976 Staff timetable cards, course enrollment, 2-4 course descriptions, lists of “Trinity Students Enrolled Elsewhere,” Victoria College course descriptions, Italian Studies course descriptions, Mediaeval Studies suggested programmes of study, U of T staff lists, and “Projected Teaching Time-table for Trinity, 1976-77.”

Personal 1975 1976 Correspondence, chiefly regarding staffing 4-10 correspondence and professorships, and chiefly with regards about academic to Professor Harvey Kerpneck. crises when I became Chairman

13

Wilson fonds

Correspondence re: 1975 1980 Includes notes for the “Nature of My Job as I 4-11 Chairmanship do it” for the Search Committee, perhaps when Wilson’s chairmanship was drawing to a close.

Correspondence re: 1977 1982 Correspondence regarding Wilson’s election 4-12 Royal Society Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada and Wilson’s receipt of the rosette of the Society.

Obituaries 1984 1985 Obituaries prepared by Wilson for the Council 4-13 of Trinity College for George Fall, Roloff Beny, and Mossie May Kirkwood.

Reduced workload & 1984 1988 Correspondence. Material from a “retirement 4-14 retirement evening” for Kenneth Louis Schmitz, Gordon Alfred Brabant Watson, Helen McArthur Hardy, Alexander Dalzell, Douglas Alick Joyce, Milton Wilson, and John Wavell Cole.

Trinity Library and 1984 1991 Correspondence and signed Certificate of Gift 4-15 Archives for the 1991 accession.

Comments on Pat’s 29 29 Handwritten and word-processed notes on 4-16 Scriblerus MS June June Patricia Bruckmann’s Scriblerus manuscript. 1990 1990

SERIES 4: PUBLICATIONS

Dates of creation: 1955-1967

Extent: 7 cm of textual records

Scope and content: Series consists of correspondence, agreements, permissions, notes, clippings, and reviews relating to some of Wilson’s publications.

14

Wilson fonds

FOLDER/UNIT TITLE START END CONTENTS BOX/ DATE DATE FILE #

Shelley’s Later 1955 1985 Correspondence, agreements, notes, clippings, 5-1 Poetry and reviews relating to Wilson’s book Shelley’s Later Poetry.

New Canadian 1961 1963 Correspondence and agreement for a poetry 5-2 Library Poetry anthology published by the New Canadian Anthology Library and edited by Wilson.

Poets Between the 1965 1967 Correspondence, agreement, and permissions 5-3 Wars for Poets Between the Wars, edited by Wilson. Correspondents include Dorothy Livesay.

15