_f, I Cefleblhfi POETRY: OUR DEBT T0 geg1N

world war I sew Canadian writers revealing themselves as members of the

“heple Leef ochool” : that is to soy eo blindly cheuvihietic, bletently eentimentel. The noveliete were following the pettern of Ralph Connorl and hie boohe flghe Sky Filot in no Man's Eehd {the padre urging on the troops} or To him that Eeth_{the resolution of the Winnipeg Stike théhuégo brotherly love}. There appear to heve been only two ettempte et a polit~ icel and objective enelyeie of the wer and ite efesmethjin the worfi§of two men who are etill relatively kxxxxx unknown and unpreieed.i refer to Herrieon'en§ggere£-fiie in_§§d~end Douglee Qmrkin'e The hegpi .

Here for the firet time in Seneda wer ie eeen not ae glioue sacrifice) but ee brutieh and mad ; end the deeire ta build e new world for the

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returned eoldiere and their iemiliee ie e etrong theme in lee hegpie. ,, _ vyglwey , , out generally epeeking the t i of proee end poetry in the twenties

ere replegte with political neivete a Qutitudee of ofoey opfimiem, . , ,_ , .gldfiuV<J¢J , .

errogent indivioueliem combine with enteeoehged coneervetiee. lt wee

not until the 930's, wheelie entire fehxix eociel fabric of the nation oollepeed et the oueet of breedlinee, evictione, ruthleee police prove» cetion end etteche on etrikere)thet whet could be celled {bliticel con~ eciousneeebegan to grow in the mihde of Cehediene~~whether they were in trade unions, unorganized , unemployed, or in profeeeione ouch ee teechi ng, law, eocial work, journalism. Thue, to underetend what the evente in gfeinl meant to oanadien writere and poete it ie ne dful to exemine the years between 1930 and l9§5. A eooiel worker, hergeret Gould, euomed up the period in theee worde:

when the poor in Canede try to help themeelvee by orgenieing into uuione one otrihihg for better oonditiohe and pay, the militia ie called out to crueh them, ea in Strwtford. when they Qrfifijiflfi for a decent etenderd of relief, tear bombe ere ;§§"4,_§£vt§e ee in Vancouver. Sr they are ejected from the 6?

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Hell, ee in Toronto. Or they are routed out The shame and oiegreoe of this eituetion wee depreeeing not only for

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r hoeee end flung into prieon, ee in York County, Onterio.

thoee involved, but for the ohlookere-~eome of whom were writere.

one reectoon wee ironic deepeir: ihteotive end eetire. Another¢: wee quite the ppeoeitez e determioetion to fight for chengeg, e deeire to build e new world where there would he juetice and e good living for ell.

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