Raymond Knister facts for kids

John Raymond Knister (born May 27, 1899 – died August 29, 1932) was a talented Canadian poet, novelist, and story writer. He was also a columnist and reviewer. People knew him for his realistic stories about rural Canada.

Knister was a respected writer in Canada during the 1920s and early 1930s. Many now see him as a pioneer. He helped create a unique, modern voice in Canadian literature.

About Raymond Knister's Life

Raymond Knister was born in Ruscom, Ontario. This area is now part of Lakeshore, near Windsor. He went to Victoria College at the University of Toronto. However, he had to leave after getting pneumonia.

At 18, he became very interested in literature. He started writing his first poems and short stories. While in Toronto, he wrote articles for Acta Victoriana. This was the college's literary magazine. He wrote about famous authors like Miguel de Cervantes and Robert Louis Stevenson. He worked on his father's farm until 1923.

Early Writing Career

In 1919, Knister began writing and publishing. His stories and poems were about farm life in Canada. From 1922 to 1923, he reviewed books. He worked for the Windsor Border Cities Star and the Detroit Free Press.

In 1923, he moved to Iowa. He became an associate editor for The Midland magazine. This was a very important literary magazine. He also took creative writing courses at Iowa State University.

By 1924, Knister was a taxi driver in Chicago. He also reviewed books for Poetry magazine. His work appeared in the Chicago Evening Post. In 1926, he moved back to Toronto. He worked as a freelance writer. His articles were in the Toronto Star Weekly and Saturday Night. In Toronto, he met other writers. These included Morley Callaghan, Mazo de la Roche, and Charles G.D. Roberts.

In 1925, Knister had work published in This Quarter. This was a literary magazine in Paris.

Family Life and Major Works

In 1926, Knister put together a collection of nature poems. It was called Windfalls for Cider. A publisher, Ryerson Press, accepted it. But they later had to cancel due to money problems.

Knister married Myrtle Gamble in 1927. They had a daughter named Imogen in 1930.

In 1928, Knister edited an important book. It was an anthology called Canadian Short Stories. An anthology is a collection of writings. This book was considered "trend-setting."

Knister published his first novel, White Narcissus, in 1929. This book is still available today. It is part of a series of classic Canadian literature.

Knister was very interested in John Keats. Keats was a 19th-century English Romantic poet who died young. Knister collected many letters and books about Keats. His daughter said he even had his wife help him with research. They spent eight months researching Keats's life. This resulted in a long non-fiction novel. It was called My Star Predominant.

In 1931, Knister moved to Montreal, Quebec. He met poets from the Montreal Group. With poet Leo Kennedy, he planned a new anthology. It would be like his Canadian Short Stories. But this one would be for Canadian modernist poetry. This idea later led to the famous New Provinces anthology in 1936. He also met poet Dorothy Livesay and novelist Frederick Philip Grove.

Grove read My Star Predominant. He encouraged Knister to enter it in a contest. This was the Graphic Publishers' Canadian Novel contest. Knister made the book shorter. He sent it in and then forgot about it. My Star Predominant won the top prize of $2,500. However, the publishing company failed. So, the novel was not published right away.

In 1932, Ryerson Press offered Knister a job as an editor. They had bought the rights to My Star Predominant. But before he could start, Knister had a tragic accident. He drowned while swimming in Lake St. Clair. He was on a picnic with his family.

My Star Predominant was finally published in 1934. It came out in Canada and England.

Legacy and Remembrance

Knister's daughter, Imogen Givens, wrote a memoir about him. It was called "Raymond Knister: Man or Myth?". She used her mother's diary for it. It was published in a journal in 1979–80.

In 2007, poet Micheline Mayler published Full Depth: The Raymond Knister Poems. This book tells Knister's life story through poems.

Knister is buried in Port Dover, Ontario. His poem "Change" is written on his tombstone.

Dorothy Livesay said that Knister "seemed to represent the struggle of a generation." This generation of writers wanted to bring Canadian poetry into the 20th century. Knister was a "Transitional modern" writer. His work showed how Canadian poetry and society were changing.

Knister's Writing Style

Besides his novels, Knister wrote many poems and short stories. He also wrote essays, editorials, and book reviews. He was always open to new ideas in literature.

Fiction Works

After 1925, Knister spent more time writing fiction than poetry. Two of his novels were published during his life. These were White Narcissus and My Star Predominant. Even though other famous writers respected him, Knister never became widely popular.

His farm work gave him ideas for his stories. It also helped him write his first novel, White Narcissus (1929). This book is set in rural Ontario. It is about a writer named Richard Milne. He returns home to try and marry his childhood sweetheart, Ada Lethen. Ada feels she must stay home. Her parents only talk through her because of an old fight. The novel is mostly realistic. But some parts are very poetic and romantic.

Knister's fiction helps us understand his poetry better. In My Star Predominant, Knister has Keats share ideas about poetry that were really Knister's own. The novel shows Keats growing as an artist. He learns to connect directly with life. He also gains self-knowledge.

In 2006, a previously unknown novel by Knister was published. It was called There Was a Mr. Cristi. His daughter Imogen found it. The story is about a woman who leaves her husband in 1930s Ontario. She moves to Toronto to open a boarding house. The book tells a fascinating story of life in the 1930s. It features many interesting characters living in the house.

One of Knister's most famous short stories is "Mist-green oats." It is about a young man leaving his family farm. Many of his stories focus on a character's journey of self-discovery. For example, "The First Day of Spring" shows a farm boy learning about life's harsh realities.

Knister also wrote novellas. In "Innocent man," a man's wedding night is spent in a Chicago jail. He was falsely arrested. Each prisoner tells their story of innocence. There is tension between the prisoners and guards. "Peaches, peaches" is set on a fruit farm. A young man learns about relationships as a huge peach crop ripens.

Poetry Style

Knister is seen as one of Canada's first modern poets. His poetry often describes nature powerfully. It is usually linked to the Imagist school. Imagism focuses on clear, sharp images. Knister also used other forms. These included the prose-poem ("Poisons") and longer poems ("Corn husking").

Knister's nature poetry includes "The Hawk" and "The Plowman." These poems show rural life and the Canadian landscape vividly. In both his poetry and fiction, Knister showed everyday things realistically. He used a conversational language style. Other poems include "Reverie: The Orchard on the Slope" and "The Quiet Snow."

Knister was influenced by American poets like Carl Sandburg. Sandburg's poetry was regional and realistic. Knister also admired Edwin Arlington Robinson. He praised Robinson for creating characters like a novelist. He also liked how Robinson adapted his style to fit his characters.

Knister's poetry forms came from the Imagists. But he was also influenced by A.E. Housman and the English Georgians. Knister greatly admired Housman. He praised Housman's characters, who were simple farmers. Knister's own characters were also "soil-loving, life-loving, inarticulate" farmers.

Knister also liked how Housman showed young people discovering life's challenges. In his own poetry, Knister explored the differences between childhood and adulthood. The moment a boy moves from innocence to knowledge is key in many of his stories.

Poet Anne Burke says Knister's work is simple and direct. It is about modern life. It aims for "absolute truth." She compares his work to Robert Frost's. Knister's writing, like Frost's, seems simple on the surface. But it has a deeper complexity.

In 2003, After Exile was published. This was the first reprint of Knister's poems in over 20 years. The book included many poems never before in a book. It also had new poems and some prose and letters.

Knister's Critical Writings

Knister was a bit of a rebel, like other writers in the McGill Group. His critical writings showed he was not happy with Canadian poetry at the time.

A key point in Knister's critical writings was his dislike for overly fancy language in poetry. He felt that Canadian taste preferred a romantic style. But Knister valued realistic portrayals. He wanted his poems to be "real." He aimed to show images of things as accurately as possible. He believed that "We would feel differently about many other common things if we saw them clearly enough."

Knister also felt Canadians were too "colonial." He said Canadian writers often tried to be like English or American writers. They wanted to seem sophisticated. He believed this made their writing about Canadian subjects unrealistic.

Knister also criticized how conservative Canadian taste was. He felt Canadian magazines were too traditional. For example, he said Arthur Stringer had to write murder mysteries. This was because the Canadian public did not accept his new poetry. Knister himself found it hard to get his work published in Canada. He felt his poems and stories were "so Canadian" but Canadian editors would not take them. He thought this was "gruesomely significant."

Knister felt that this conservatism came from colonialism. He believed it made people less interested in new ideas. He was bitter that his generation of writers was being ignored.

Knister was not just a critic. He also offered solutions. He believed Canada needed a "little magazine." This magazine would focus on creative work. It would give a voice to "what is actually being lived among us." He hoped this would help a unique Canadian voice be heard.