Milton Acorn: In Love and Anger

Description

279 pages
Contains Photos, Bibliography, Index
$34.95
ISBN 0-88629-340-5
DDC C811'.54

Year

1999

Contributor

Reviewed by Bert Almon

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta. He is
the author of Calling Texas, Earth Prime, and Mind the Gap.

Review

Richard Lemm has written a thorough and honest biography of a Canadian
poet who arouses sympathy while creating exasperation. Lemm keeps his
balance, avoiding two common failings of biographers—hostility or hero
worship. Milton Acorn had a populist tendency (the People’s Poet Award
was created for him by admiring fellow writers) that did not always seem
compatible with his idiosyncratic communism. His politics and his
unhappy marriage to a very young Gwendolyn MacEwan are covered here with
sensitivity.

The biography rests on archival material as well as interviews.
Although it sometimes comes close to being a “laundry list”
biography, it will remain the definitive Acorn biography for many years
to come.

Citation

Lemm, Richard., “Milton Acorn: In Love and Anger,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed November 29, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/8096.