Lorne Pierce Medal
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (1942) Winner
Watson Kirkconnell
ワトソン・カークコネル
Watoson Kākuconneru
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1895-05-16 （Port Hope, Ontario）
- Died
- 1977-02-26 （Wolfville, Nova Scotia） age 81
- Nationality
- Canada
- Languages
- English, French, German, Latin, Ancient Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Icelandic, Ukrainian, Scottish Gaelic
- Religion
- Baptist Baptized in 1907
- Residence History
- Port Hope, Ontario → Lindsay, Ontario → Kingston, Ontario → Winnipeg, Manitoba → Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Career
- Occupations
- literary scholar, poet, playwright, linguist, satirist, translator, university professor, university president
- Active Years
- 1916-1977
- Affiliations
- Wesley College, Acadia University
- Memberships
- Freemason, Royal Society of Canada
- Influenced By
- Isaac Watts, Robert Burns, T.S. Eliot, John Milton
- Influenced
- C.H. Andrusyshen
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen's University | — | Classics | Master of Arts | 1913-1916 | Canada |
Queen's University
Classics
Degree:
Master of Arts
Period:
1913-1916
Year of Graduation:
1916
Country:
Canada
Double medallist in Latin and Greek
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Order of Canada | — | Officer | Government of Canada | awarded |
| 1936 | Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada | — | — | Royal Society of Canada | awarded |
| 1936 | Order of Polonia Restituta | — | Knight | Second Polish Republic | awarded |
Order of Canada
1968
Category:
Officer
Organization:
Government of Canada
Result:
awarded
Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
1936
Organization:
Royal Society of Canada
Result:
awarded
Order of Polonia Restituta
1936
Category:
Knight
Organization:
Second Polish Republic
Result:
awarded
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
European Elegies
1928 Poetry anthologyOne Hundred Poems Chosen and Translated from European Literature in Fifty Languages, a memorial to his late wife.
multiculturalismelegy
A Golden Treasury of Polish Lyrics
1936 Poetry anthologySelected and rendered into English Polish lyrics.
Polish poetry
The Ukrainian Poets: 1189-1962
1963 Poetry anthologyComprehensive anthology of Ukrainian poetry translated with C.H. Andrusyshen.
Ukrainian poetrymulticulturalism
The Poetical Works of Taras Shevchenko
1964 PoetryTranslation of Ukrainian national poet Taras Shevchenko's works.
Ukrainian independence
Bibliography
- Kapuskasing. An Historical Sketch (1921)
- Victoria County Centennial History (1921)
- European Elegies (1928)
- The Tide of Life and Other Poems (1930)
- North American Book of Icelandic Verse (1930)
- The European Heritage (1930)
- The Magyar Muse (1933)
- A Canadian Headmaster (1935)
- Canadian Overtones (1935)
- A Golden Treasury of Polish Lyrics (1936)
- The Death of King Buda (1936)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- formal verserhymed translationsblank versesatirical verse
- Recurring Motifs
- multiculturalismanti-totalitarianismChristianityhistorical eventshuman rights
Health
-
sickly幼少期delayed entry into school by two years
Legacy
Regarded as the father of multiculturalism in Canada, renowned for translating poetry from over 50 languages. Influential scholar and educator, though controversial for later views on eugenics and Holocaust denial.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Canada
Archives
- Acadia University Archives
- Library and Archives Canada
Quotes
-
I disagree profoundly with those who would hack off completely all roots of European culture and then hew the mutilated trunk into conformity with some arbitrary nationalistic pattern; I believe rather that the perpetration of the finest elements of Old World culture will incalculably enrich the life of the New World.
Source: The North American Book of Icelandic Verse (1930) -
I do not fancy spending the rest of my life pottering over defunct Indian tongues especially when there is no literature connected with them.
-
[I]n a wholesale condemnation of that [Nazi] regime and all its works, I am not prepared to join. It has done wonders in rehabilitating German industry...
Source: Canadian Baptist (1939) -
[I] convinced in a general way that the propaganda figure of six million liquidations in the Nazi concentration-camps is 95 per cent legend.
-
Certain basic facts emerge... It is deeply religious... but it is not Christian.
Source: A Slice of Canada: Memoirs (1967)
Trivia
- Known as the father of multiculturalism in Canada
- Translated poetry from over 50 languages
- 9th President of Acadia University
- Secret informant for RCMP Security Service
- Served as Grand Master in Freemasonry