No Time For Poets, Even When We Do Have a Claim To Fame

NO TIME FOR POETS….EVEN WHEN WE DO HAVE A CLAIM TO FAME

WHAT CAN A BRITISH POET AND A CANADIAN HISTORY DO FOR TOURISM ANYWAY?

     NOTE: JUST A BRIEF NOTATION REGARDING THE CHOICE OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE UPCOMING MAYOR'S TEA, TO BE HELD ON THE ELEVENTH OF JUNE, AT THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. THE RUMORS WERE BANG-ON. THE HEADLINING GROUP, WILL NOT BE FROM OUR HOMETOWN. INSTEAD THEY WILL BE FROM HUNTSVILLE. WHICH WOULD BE GREAT IF THEY WERE PERFORMING ON THE BARGE, OR AT ANOTHER VENUE, THAT WASN'T QUITE AS HOMETOWN-INTIMATE, AS THE "MAYOR'S TEA."

     HOW DOES THIS MAKE LOCAL MUSICIANS AND MUSICAL GROUPS FEEL? HOW WOULD YOU FEEL, TO BE SNUBBED AND DENIED THIS PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY…..GUITAR HUNG OVER YOU SHOULDER, AND A SONG IN YOUR HEART? HOW DO COUNCIL MEMBERS FEEL ABOUT THIS ISSUE? UNANIMOUS, THAT IT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION? OR POSSIBLY, JUST POSSIBLY, YOU RAISED YOUR CONCERNS WHEN IT WAS DISCUSSED? WOULD ANY OF US BE SURPRISED IF IT WAS A MATTER THAT DIDN'T GET DEBATE AT ALL? HERE'S AN IDEA FOR COUNCILLORS, WHO MAYBE DIDN'T GET A CRACK AT DETERMINING THE MAIN ACT FOR THE MAYOR'S TEA. OFFER A BELATED PROTEST ANYWAY, BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, IN SUPPORT OF OUR TOWN MUSICIANS. AS FOR CULTURAL MAPPING, NO COMMENT. HONESTLY, IT'S ALL SO MADDENING, IT'S NOT WORTH GOING ON ABOUT! THERE WAS A DAY MY FRIENDS……WHEN A SNUB LIKE THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN OF SCANDALOUS PROPORTION. I'M AFRAID TODAY, THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH APATHY, INCLUDING FROM THE MEDIA, TO MAKE IT AN ISSUE BEYOND WHAT IT IS……A RUN-OF-THE-MILL, GARDEN VARIETY SNUB. AS FOR PUBLIC OUTRAGE……IT WON'T HAPPEN. I'M SORRY TO NOTE THIS BUT IT'S TRUE. THIS REALITY OF DISINTEREST, HAS GREATLY ASSISTED THE TOWN IN DOING WHAT IT PLEASES….BECAUSE IT CAN. THE SUMMER THEATRE PROJECT? SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST.

AS FOR A POET AND AN HISTORIAN - WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM?

     AS I NOTED THAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, IS KEEPING TRACK OF THE ANNIVERSARY YEARS, SINCE THE TOWN'S INCORPORATION, NOW IN ITS 126TH YEAR, I'M MATCHING THEM YEAR BY YEAR, BY ONCE AGAIN PROMOTING THE FACT THAT IT IS COMING UP TO THE 151ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE OFFICIAL NAMING OF THE FLEDGLING POST OFFICE IN THIS COMMUNITY…..THUS AFFORDING US THE TITLE OF, "GRAVENHURST." I WROTE A LENGTHY SERIES OF ARTICLES, FOR THE SECOND TIME SINCE 2000, TO RECOGNIZE NOT ONLY THE ANNIVERSARY OF ITS NAMING, BUT THE ROLE TWO EXCEPTIONAL SCHOLARS PLAYED IN IT, BACK IN AUGUST OF 1862.

   THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST, HAS NEVER PAID MUCH ATTENTION TO THIS MILESTONE EVENT IN HISTORY, AND LAST YEAR, DECIDED TO PLAY UP THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY, WHICH MARKED ITS INCORPORATION AS A TOWN, 125 YEARS PREVIOUSLY. NOW THIS ANNIVERSARY IS PRETTY DRY……AS DATES OF COMMEMORATION GO, BUT POSSIBLY THERE WAS SOME COIN TO FINANCE A SMALL FLING, FROM THE PROVINCE, BECAUSE IT IS THEIR INTEREST TO PROMOTE SUCH MUNICIPAL ACHIEVEMENTS. IT WAS A CLERICAL THING, REALLY, BECAUSE COMPARED TO THE NAMING OF THE TOWN, WHICH WAS BOTH CONTROVERSIAL AT THE TIME, AND STORIED, THERE IS NO QUESTION, THAT OF THE TWO SPECIAL EVENTS, ONE WAS CERTAINLY MORE INTERESTING AND INTERNATIONAL IN ITS PROFILE THAN THE OTHER. MAYBE I AM SELF SERVING IN THIS MATTER, (WOULD YOU BLAME ME) BUT IF YOUR READ ON, I'LL EXPLAIN MY REASONING FOR THIS ASSERTION.

     I CAN UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY, WHY MY OFFER TO DEVELOP AND PROMOTE THIS IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY, WAS DISREGARDED BY LOCAL TOWN COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION. IT'S ME! I JUST DON'T FALL INTO LINE, AND I'M SUBSERVIENT TO NO ONE, EXCEPT MY WIFE AND MY PETS. I WOULDN'T BELONG TO ANY GROUP THAT WOULD HAVE A GUY LIKE ME AS A MEMBER, AND I REFUSE TO BOW TO SUPREME LEADERSHIP. I'M AN HISTORIAN. I DON'T DO EITHER POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, OR BEG PERMISSION. I HAVE NO COMMITTEE WORKING ON MY BEHALF, AND I NEVER SANITIZE WHAT I DISCOVER DURING MY RESEARCH, JUST BECAUSE IT MIGHT UPSET KNOW HISTORICAL RECORD. HOW I USE IT IS A DIFFERENT STORY, AND I CAN BE SENSITIVE AT THE SAME TIME; WHILE NECESSARILY BEING HONEST WITH READERS AND THE PUBLIC GENERALLY. ADD TO THIS THE FACT THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE THESE DAYS, CARE ABOUT THE WISDOM OF POETS, AND WORRY LESS ABOUT LITERARY CRITICS. IT'S A HARD SELL IN THIS NEW CENTURY, TO PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON A POET WHO LIVED WELL MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO, AND A CANADIAN WRITER, HISTORIAN, WHO DESPITE HIS AMAZING CREDITS, IS NOT A NAME TAUGHT IN HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASS. IT COMES DOWN TO A ROGUE HISTORIAN LIKE ME, WHO FEELS BAD, THAT HE CAN'T INSPIRE INTEREST LOCALLY, TO EXPLOIT THE FACT OUR TOWN HAS SUCH AN AMAZING LITERARY PROVENANCE. YOU WON'T FIND A ROAD IN GRAVENHURST, DEDICATED TO WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, OR A MUNICIPAL FLOWER GARDEN, DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM DAWSON LESUEUR. YOU CAN LOOK AT THE TOWN WEBSITE, AND THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OFFERING, AND FIND ZERO MENTION OF EITHER CHAP, OR THE RELEVANCE OF OUR NAMING. ODD? NOT REALLY, WHEN YOU TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THE PRIORITIES OF THE TOWN THESE DAYS. CULTURAL MAPPING. SURELY THAT WOULD HAVE TO MAKE MENTION OF THIS HISTORIC NAMING, BACK IN 1862. I'M GOING TO SUGGEST, IT'S NOT ON THEIR AGENDA TO DO SO. BUT THAT'S WHAT HISTORIANS ARE FOR, AND WHATEVER THE SHORTFALL, I WILL BE THERE TO REMIND THEM.

     THE PROBLEM TODAY, IS THAT THIS PARTICULAR TOWN COUNCIL LIKES TO BE, YOU MIGHT SAY……, "IN YOUR FACE," BUT ONLY ON THEIR TERMS. THEY INSIST ON BEING PART OF THE CULTURAL PROGRAMMING OF THE TOWN BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT THIS ALL REPRESENTS. THEY FIRMLY BELIEVE, THEY CAN BE THE ONES TO DETERMINE WHAT IS CULTURALLY AND HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT, AND WHAT DOESN'T MAKE THE CUT. THEIR CONSULTATION ON THE MATTER IS THIN, AND AT THEIR CONVENIENCE. MAKING ROOM FOR A POET AND HISTORIAN FROM THE YELLOWED PAGES OF HISTORY, IS WAY TO MUCH TO ASK THESE FOLKS TO CONSIDER……AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I EXPERIENCED LAST YEAR, WHEN PRESENTING THIS ANNIVERSARY SERIES OF ARTICLES…..WHICH I AM REPUBLISHING FOR MY NEW READERS, THIS YEAR…….IN THE HOPES, I CAN AT THE VERY LEAST, INTRODUCE A FEW MORE PEOPLE TO A FASCINATING SIDE OF OUR TOWN'S HERITAGE……MANY HIGHER-UPS WOULD LIKE TO SEE DIMINISHED, AND MY ACCESS TO PRINT REVOKED BY GOD. BUT THEY KNOW DEEP DOWN, I'M NOT WEAK-WILLED, CARRY MY BATTLE-SCARS WELL, AND AS FAR AS GOING AWAY……I DON'T THINK SO. I PLAN TO OFFER MY ANNUAL ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATIONS, DEDICATED TO MY HOMETOWN, EACH YEAR FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE……AND I HAVE GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS TO MY SONS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, TO CARRY ON WITH WHAT WILL BECOME A FAMILY TRADITION, ONCE I'M PUSHING UP DAISIES. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS REVAMPED OFFERING, ABOUT TWO CHAPS I HAVE FOUND QUITE EXTRAORDINARY.

     THE FEATURES SERIES WAS FIRST DEVELOPED IN 2000, AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF RESEARCH, WHICH ALSO INCLUDED RESEARCH INTO THE NAMING OF BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO, ALSO BY WILLIAM DAWSON LESUEUR, IN AUGUST 1864, AFTER THE WASHINGTON IRVING BOOK, "BRACEBRIDGE HALL." I RE-WROTE MUCH OF THE MATERIAL LAST JULY, 2012, TO COMMEMORATE THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAMING OF GRAVENHURST, IN AUGUST 1862. I DID SO, WORKING IN OUR FAMILY ANTIQUE SHOP, LOCATED IN THE FORMER MUSKOKA THEATRE BUILDING, ON MUSKOKA ROAD. A LOT OF FOLKS ASKED WHAT I WAS WRITING ABOUT, AND I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED EXPLAINING THE PROJECT TO MANY OF OR INTERNATIONAL GUESTS…..SOME WHO FOLLOWED THE BLOG SERIES WHEN IT WAS EVENTUALLY PUBLISHED. I HAVE DECIDED TO RE-RUN THIS SERIES, PRIOR TO THE 151ST ANNIVERSARY, WHICH WILL BE CELEBRATED AS GENTLY AS THE YEAR BEFORE, BECAUSE OF THE LARGE INCREASE IN READERS TODAY, AS COMPARED TO NUMBERS LAST SUMMER. I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT STORY. IT'S A LITERARY PROVENANCE WE SHOULD BE EXPLOITING, AND BENEFITTING FROM, BUT ALAS……POETS AREN'T A BIG DEAL AROUND HERE!

WHO WAS THIS WILLIAM HENRY SMITH ANYWAY - AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

SHOULD WE BE PROUD OF OUR ASSOCIATION - OR TUCK IT AWAY WITH THE OTHER DUST OF AGES?

     TO VIEW THE MUSIC VIDEO, COMMEMORATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAMING OF THE FIRST POST OFFICE IN GRAVENHURST, YOU CAN CLICK ON THE BOX ABOVE. YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT FOR IT TO LOAD BEFORE IT CAN BE VIEWED WITHOUT STOPPING.

     "HIS POEMS 'GUIDONE' AND 'SOLITUDE,' WERE PUBLISHED TOGETHER IN 1836, AND ABOUT THE SAME TIME HE REVIEWED BULWER AND LANDOR IN "THE QUARTERLY. IN 1839 HE PUBLISHED HIS 'DISCOURSE ON ETHICS OF THE SCHOOL OF PALEY,' WHICH, IN PROFESSOR FERRIER'S OPINION, 'WAS ONE OF THE BEST WRITTEN AND MOST INGENIOUSLY REASONED ATTACKS UPON CUDWORTH'S DOCTRINE THAT EVER APPEARED'. IN THE SAME YEAR HE BEGAN HIS CONNECTION WITH 'BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE,' CONTINUED TO NEARLY THE END OF HIS LIFE. HE CONTRIBUTED ALTOGETHER 126 ARTICLES ON THE MOST DIVERSE SUBJECTS, STORIES, POEMS, ESSAYS IN PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS, BUT PRINCIPALLY REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS, ALL VALUABLE, AND ALL DISTINGUISHED BY ELEGANCE AND LUCIDITY OF STYLE."

     WILLIAM SMITH, WHILE WRITING FOR THE PUBLICATIONS SUCH AS THE "LITERARY GAZETTE," AND "ATHENAEUM," USED THE PEN NAME, "THE WOOL-GATHERER."

     YOU MIGHT ALSO WISH, AFTER READING THIS, TO LOOK UP THE TEXT OF "GRAVENHURST; OR THOUGHTS AND GOOD AND EVIL," ON GOOGLE BOOKS, WHERE IT HAS BE FULLY RE-PUBLISHED.    

     It might appear, from using this detailed, literarily complicated opening biography, first released in 'The Dictionary of National Biography,' published by the Oxford Press, that I'm actually trying to scare readers off. I'm pretty sure, this information won't stir the younger readers, and I can't imagine the hisses I'd get, if I had to present this to a high school history class. Those not hissing, would be snoring, or asking to go to the washroom.....repeatedly. It's a tough sell but then I've been doing this historical stuff since I was a kid.....so I've gotten used to people switching me off for self preservation; which does speak to my own rather boring existence mired in the archives of local history.

      I'm so positive about this particular story, and the connection we've never really made with William Henry Smith, that it's worth the risk, to keep plugging along, in this 150th anniversary month, of the official naming of the Town of Gravenhurst's first post office, by postal authority William Dawson LeSueur, after the title of the British author's book, "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil." That date was August Ist, 1862, and one hundred and fifty years later, there is virtually no buzz, little interest, and no will to pursue much more knowledge than presently exists, about the historial and literary connection with old England. Well, that's never stopped me before. So here goes some more biographical information from the National Biography:

     "His novel 'Ernesto,' a story connected with the conspiracy of Fiesco, had appeared in 1835. It has considerable psychological but little narrative interest. Similar qualities and defects characterizes his tragedy of 'Athelwold,' (1842) although it was greatly admired by Mrs. Taylor, the Egeria of Stuart Mill, whose scrap of criticism is one of the very few utterances of hers that have found their way to print. Macready produced a curtailed version in 1843, and his and Helen Faucit's acting, procured it a successful first night; more was hardly to be anticipated. It was published in 1846 along with 'Sir William Crichton,' another tragedy,  and 'Guidone,' and 'Solitude.' From this time Smith lived chiefly at Keswick in the Lake District. In 1851, he unexpectedly received an offer from Professor Wilson to supply temporarily his place as professor of moral philosophy at Edinburg, but he was diffident, and had begun to write 'Thorndale,' and the tempting offer was declined. 'Thorndale; or the Conflict of Opinions,' was published in 1857, and, notwithstanding its length and occasional abstruseness, speedily gained acceptance with thoughtful readers. In the previous year he had become acquainted with his future wife, Lucy Caroline, daughter of George Cumming, M.D. whom he married at St. John's Church, Notting Hill, on the 5th of March, 1861," records the National Biography.

     "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil,' was published the same year. It confirmed and extended the reputation acquired by 'Thorndale,' but Smith owes much more to his wife's beautiful and affectionate record of their married life, almost devoid of incident as it is. His health began to decline in 1869, and he died at Brighton on the 28th of March, 1872. Mrs. Smith survived until the 14th of December 1881. Apart from her memoir (which the Gravenhurst Archives possesses in its collection), her literary work had principally consisted of translations from the German, both in prose and verse.  Next after the biography, which has embalmed his name, Smith will chiefly be remembered by his philosophical dialogues, 'Thorndale,' and 'Gravenhurst'. The mutual relation of the books is indicated by the author himself, when he says that "Thorndale,' is a conflict of opinions, and 'Gravenhurst,' a harmony. No man was better qualified by inate candour and impartiality to balance conflicting opinions against each other, or by acuteness to exhibit the strong and weak points of all. The eclectic character of his mind aided the diffusion of the books; every one found much that commended itself to him, while less popular views were expressed with an urbanity which disarmed hostility, and the hesitation to draw definite conclusions was an additional attraction to a public weary of dogmatism. If these really charming compositions have become in a measure obsolete, the chief reason is the importation of physical science as an element in moral discussions, but their classic elegance will always secure them an honorable, if not influential place in the history of modern speculation.

     "Smith's dramatic gift was not inconsiderable; his personages are well individualised both in his dialogues and his dramas. Of the latter, 'Sir William Crichton,' a play of the story times of James II of Scotland, is the more effective. 'Athelwold,' is a clear immitation of the style of Sir Henry Taylor, and, like the latter's 'Edwin the Fair,' brings Dunstan upon the stage. Both plays are full of wisdom, beautifully expressed, but neither is very vital nor very real."

     "I call this somewhat irregular esssay on a very old subject by the name of the place in which it was written, because allusions to that place and its inhabitants, and some conversations with neighbouring friends, have crept into it," wrote William Henry Smith, in his book, "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil," published in Edinburgh, originally in 1861. "One evening when returning from my walk through a village which, at least in these pages, bears the name of 'Gravenhurst,' I found myself meditating on the old problem of good and evil, and that apparently disproportionate amount of evil, which has often perplexed profoundest thinkers, and which has often startled into thought the most simple-hearted of men, when suffering themselves under any sharp calamity," wrote Smith of the community he used as the model for his study.

     "A visit paid to a poor woman in distress, and a conversation held with a dear friend who keeps alive in me the habit of philosophical discussion, had led my thoughts in this direction. It was the hour of sunset. As I paused upon the parapet of our little bridge, the distant Welsh hills were glowing in their purple splendour; the river ran gold at my feet; every branch of every graceful tree that hung silently in the air received and reflected a new beauty from that entire scene of enchantment, to which also it brought its own contribution. The whole which is formed itself of separate parts, gives to each part its meaning and charm,"

     More on the good Mr. Smith in tomorrow's blog. Please join me for another in the series of blog-chapters, recognizing the 151st anniversary of the naming of the Town of Gravenhurst, Ontario, on August 1st, 1862.