Kenneth Leslie (1892–1974) was a Canadian poet and songwriter, and an influential

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. He was the founder and editor of ''The Protestant Digest'' (later ''The Protestant''), which had a peak circulation of over 50,000 subscribers. A

Christian socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

, he was given the nickname, "God's Red Poet".

Life

Leslie was born in

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, on October 31, 1892. His father, Robert Jamieson Leslie, was a shipping magnate and in 1905 became a member of the

Quebec legislature The Quebec Legislature (officially Parliament of Quebec, french: Parlement du Québec) is the legislature of the province of Quebec, Canada. The legislature is made of two elements: the King of Canada, represented by the lieutenant governor of Q ...

, but drowned that year when one of his ships, ''The Lunenberg'', sank in a storm off the

Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...

(which were part of his

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

constituency).The Essential Kenneth Leslie
" MightyApe.co.nz, Web, Apr. 15, 2011. Kenneth Leslie was raised by his mother, Bertha Starratt Leslie. As a boy he learned to play the violin and piano, and loved to sing; he also wrote poetry.Burris Devanney

" ''Canadian Poetry: Studies / Documents / Reviews'' No.05 (Fall/Winter 1979), UWO, Web, Apr. 15, 2011 He "was a child prodigy, attending

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

in Halifax at age 14."VisionTV documentary tells the story of unsung Canadian hero Kenneth Leslie, poet and political activist
," VisionTV (press release), June 11, 2008. Web, Apr. 15, 2011. Later he was educated at Colgate Theological Seminary for a year; the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he received his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1914; and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he studied under the American idealist philosopher

Josiah Royce Josiah Royce (; November 20, 1855 – September 14, 1916) was an American objective idealist philosopher and the founder of American idealism. His philosophical ideas included his version of personalism, defense of absolutism, idealism and his ...

, but did not receive a doctorate.

First marriage

Leslie was married four times. His first wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of the wealthy Halifax candy manufacturer, James Moir. The couple led an active social life, travelling widely, acquainted with some of the leading literary and artistic figures of the day. In Halifax they were members of

The Song Fishermen The Song Fishermen, or the Song Fishermen's Circle (1928–1930), was an informal group of poets from Atlantic Canada that included the famous Canadian poets Bliss Carman and Charles G. D. Roberts. History The group was led by Andrew and T ...

, a social and literary set led by their friends, Andrew and Tully Merkel, whose Halifax,

, home was "a favourite rendezvous for writers and artists." Leslie became a close friend of Song Fisherman Robert Norwood, "a native of New Ross, N.S. who published eight books of poetry and became, as rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, one of the most renowned preachers in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

." In approximately 1928, the Leslies and their children spent a year in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. This year was predominantly spent travelling continental Europe, even though the trip was meant to facilitate Leslie's studies at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In the late 1920s the Leslies relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where Leslie began losing his wife's money playing the

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, as ...

: "Estimates of the loss run from $25,000 to $250,000." During those years, the Leslies were active in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

circles. Leslie studied acting, and his children were cast in a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play. Leslie wrote his own "'Broadway' musical, which collapsed in rehearsals, and a few dozen other songs which did not sell in

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

." During the 1930s Leslie hosted a radio program on

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.

Second marriage

In 1934 Leslie married Marjorie Finlay Hewitt, a divorcée, who had "become enamoured of him when she attended a poetry reading he was giving in Montclair, N.J." The dozen years of their marriage were the most productive of his life. In 1934 he published ''Windward Rock'', "the first of several acclaimed volumes of poetry in 1934." Three more books of poetry '' Lowlands Low'', ''Such a Din'' and ''By Stubborn Stars'' would follow in the next four years. The last volume, ''By Stubborn Stars'', won Canada's Governor General's Award in 1938. But by then Leslie had other concerns. During the mid-1930s, "he had become increasingly disturbed by the growth of

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

and

anti-semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

attitudes in the United States throughout the 'thirties and the concomitant influence of isolationist sentiments on American foreign policy." In particular he was concerned about the radio broadcasts of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest

Charles Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the ...

, who was reaching as many as 40 million listeners. He worried about the spread of groups like the

German-American Bund The German American Bund, or the German American Federation (german: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany (FoN ...

, the Protestant War Veterans Association, the Christian Mobilizers, the Christian Front, and

William Dudley Pelley William Dudley Pelley (March 12, 1890 – June 30, 1965) was an American fascist leader, occultist, spiritualist and writer. Pelley came to prominence as a writer, winning two O. Henry Awards and penning screenplays for Hollywood films. His ...

's Silver Shirts, all of whom he saw as being inspired by Coughlin's anti-semitism. So "during the late 1930s, he chose to take a public stand, launching the ''Protestant Digest'' (later ''The Protestant''), a progressive journal of religion and politics." In December 1938, with the "support of his second wife, who provided almost all of the initial investment money (approximately $40,000), he created the ''Protestant Digest'', ... which eventually attained a circulation of 50,000 and became a powerful voice in the war against fascism and anti-semitism in the United States." "With contributions from the leading public intellectuals of the day, the magazine called for a declaration of war against the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

, and stood firmly against the oppression of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

." The

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologi ...

and

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of America ...

became editorial advisers to ''The Protestant'', "as did ... Dr. John Mackay, President of

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...

, James Luther Adams of the Meadville Theological Seminary in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and Louie D. Newton of Atlanta, Associate Secretary of the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

. "But eslie's

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

politics and pointed criticism of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(which in his view had enabled

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

’s fascists) earned him enemies as well." "By the early 1940s, Leslie's organization rotestant Associateshad produced numerous offshoots, including a national organization of anti-fascist Protestant clergy.... Leslie himself was in constant demand as a speaker, and earned endorsements from the likes of

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

," the

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

. One initiative of Protestant Associates was "the Textbook Commission, with Leslie as 'national' chairman. ... The Commission gave itself the mandate of searching out and eliminating anti-semitic statements in American textbooks." In December 1943 the Commission released a list of 33 books carrying what it called "race-hating propaganda." "The fact that a large number of these publications were in use in

parochial schools contributed to Leslie’s undeserved (but growing) reputation as a virulent anti-Catholic." Leslie also came up with the idea of ''The Challenger'', "an anti-fascist

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

which appeared sporadically in 1944 and once in 1945, this last time in a 64 page "deluxe" edition which had a press run of 400,000 and sold at 10 cents. The cover of the 1945 edition shows youths of the white, yellow and black races battling green demons of fear, hate and greed. Gerald Richardson, the editor, made use of nationally known cartoonists in this attempt to counter the mass production of fascist propaganda aimed at the young." In 1945, fascism had descreased in comparison to the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and so was 'fascist propaganda'. During this time period, fascism as a Western threat decreased, however, communism in the western world was a developing threar. Leslie was a part of the anti-fascist coalition. Leslie criticized the Catholic Church as enablers of fascism and was later criticized by its supporters as an enabler of

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. After he called the Church anti-semitic, he was called anti-Catholic. Typical of the attacks on him was a "widely-distributed Roman Catholic newspaper in 1947

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

described ''The Protestant'' as the 'Red Hope' and accused Leslie of serving faithfully 'the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

purpose to wipe out the

, as the chief moral obstacle in the path to Soviet World domination." At the same time, by Leslie's account, he was fighting to maintain control over editorial policy against executive staff of ''The Protestant'' who were supporters of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. As a result of that struggle, six members of the executive resigned in November 1946, "allegedly because of Leslie’s dictatorial, one-man control of the publication." After this, Leslie's financila support and "his personal prestige, became severely diminished." To make matters worse, his wife discovered he was "having an affair with his private secretary, Cathy, a Polish-American girl some thirty years younger than himself," and filed for divorce. Since Leslie had never taken a proper salary from ''The Protestant'', this left him with no personal income. Following this, Leslie was scrutinised by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

as well as Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

's anti-communist crusade. In addition, he was listed as one of the top 50 communist "

fellow travelers The term ''fellow traveller'' (also ''fellow traveler'') identifies a person who is intellectually sympathetic to the ideology of a political organization, and who co-operates in the organization's politics, without being a formal member of that o ...

and innocent dupes" on the

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

alongside figures including

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...

and

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

." In 1949 Leslie returned to Nova Scotia permanently.

Third and fourth marriages

Kenneth Leslie arrived back in Canada with a new wife, "Cathy, whose parents were peasant class Polish immigrants ndhad no independent source of income. Leslie had to find a job." He drove a taxi and found some work as a substitute teacher. He tried to enter academe: "financially down-and-out and reduced to driving a taxi to earn a living, he entered the education faculty of Dalhousie University, only to withdraw after a few weeks, thoroughly disillusioned with the feeble intellectual quality of the program." His new marriage fell apart quickly. "Cathy was not happy in Nova Scotia — and she had fallen in love with one of Leslie’s nephews, a man close to her own age. Tearfully, and still with great fondness for her husband, she left him to join the nephew." Kenneth Leslie lived quietly in rural Nova Scotia, working as a lay preacher and substitute teacher. Due to his activist past, plus a 1958 trip he made to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, he was for some time under

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

surveillance, and an object of "parental anxieties about Communists in the classroom". ''The Protestant'' finally shut down in 1953. But for the next 20 years Leslie continued to publish successor periodicals: ''One, New Christian, Man'', and ''New Man''. In 1960 Leslie heard of the death of an old friend, Judge Totten. He "drove alone to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to console — and to marry — the judge’s widow, Nora Steenerson Totten. The couple were devoted to each other and collaborated on the publication of ''New Man'' until 1972, when ill-health forced them both to enter a Halifax nursing home. Leslie died there in relative obscurity on October 6, 1974. Only about a dozen friends and relatives attended the funeral. Nora died the following spring."

Poetry

Leslie wrote poetry as a boy; his first poem, he later recalled, was about

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

. In the 1920s in Nova Scotia he and his first wife were members of

, a literary and society group that included Charles G. D. Roberts and

Bliss Carman William Bliss Carman (April 15, 1861 – June 8, 1929) was a Canadian poet who lived most of his life in the United States, where he achieved international fame. He was acclaimed as Canada's poet laureate during his later years. In Canada, Car ...

. Leslie began contributing poetry to the Song Fishermen broadsheets, and soon in other small Halifax literary publications too. By the end of the decade he had published poems in ''Literary Digest'' and ''Scribner's''. His first collection, ''Windward I Rock'', "was published by

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

in New York in 1934 and received favourable critical attention on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. The ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' praised him for having 'broken through the crust of the conventional to something that is burningly alive.'" His next two books, ''Lowlands Low'' (1935) and ''Such a Din!'' (1936), were published in Halifax and received little critical notice. "But in 1938 he won considerable acclaim and the Governor-General’s award with the publication in Toronto of ''By Stubborn Stars and Other Poems''. Roberts, by then the grand old man of Canadian letters, ranked Leslie at this time a better poet than E.J. Pratt, and Pratt himself wrote to Leslie.... 'I gave an address the other day on the newer poets and quoted at length from your book.'" After 1938 Leslie published very little outside his own periodicals. But he continued to write poetry and publish poetry through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. "Some of his best poems of these years are highly political: 'Moscow’s Measure,' 'Remember Lumumba!' and 'Praise the Viet Cong.' They are as stirring and passionately rhetorical as anything he ever wrote." Ladysmith Press published ''The Collected Poems of Kenneth Leslie'' in 1971. However, because editor Sean Haldane omitted a number of poems 'because they were light verse, or political verse, which fulfilled a temporal need,' Leslie published his own collected edition, ''O’Malley to the Reds and Other Poems'', in 1972. Jennifer Fandel wrote in ''ForeWord Review'':

Recognition

Leslie won the 1938 Governor General's Award for his book, ''By Stubborn Stars''. The lyrics to Leslie's song "Cape Breton Lullaby" (set to a different, traditional melody) have been recorded by several Canadian Celtic artists, including

Catherine McKinnon Catherine McKinnon (born May 14, 1944) is a Canadian actress and folk/pop singer. Early life and education Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, McKinnon began as a child performer, making her debut radio broadcast at age eight and her television ...

Ryan's Fancy Ryan’s Fancy was an Music of Ireland, Irish folk music group active from 1971–1983. The band consisted of multi-instrumentalists Denis Ryan (singer), Denis Ryan, Fergus O'Byrne, and Dermot O'Reilly, all of whom were Ireland, Irish immigra ...

,Cape Breton Lullaby (Ryan's Fancy)
" #01062, WTV-Zone.com, Web, Apr. 15, 2011. and

The Cottars The Cottars are a Canadian Celtic musical group from Cape Breton Island formed in 2000. The group's current members are Ciarán MacGillivray, Fiona MacGillivray, Bruce Timmins, and Claire Pettit. History The Cottars were founded in late 2000 wh ...

.The Cottars – Cape Breton Lullaby (3:35)
" Last.fm, Web, Apr. 15, 2011 Leslie was the subject of a 2008

VisionTV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...

documentary, ''God’s Red Poet: The Life of Kenneth Leslie''.

Publications

Poetry and songs

* ''Windward Rock: Poems''. New York: Macmillan,

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. * ''Lowlands Low: Poems.'' Halifax: McCurdy,

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

. * ''Such a Din! Poems.'' Halifax: McCurdy,

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

. * ''By Stubborn Stars and Other Poems.'' Toronto: Ryerson,

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

. * ''Songs of Nova Scotia''. ords and music by Kenneth Leslie.Halifax, 1964. * ''The Poems of Kenneth Leslie'' d. Sean Haldane.Ladysmith, Quebec: Ladysmith Press,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. * ''O'Malley to the Reds And Other Poems.'' Halifax: By the Author,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. * ''The Essential Kenneth Leslie.'' d. Zachariah WellsErin, Ontario: Porcupine's Quill,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

.The Essential Kenneth Leslie by Zacariah Wells
," Books in Print, The Porcupine's Quill, Web, Apr. 15, 2011. ,

Anthologized poems

* "Cobweb College." "A warm rain whispers, but the earth knows best." "Day slipped out of the web of her fog-wet gown." "My love is sleeping; but her body seems." "The silver herring throbbed thick in my seine." ''The Book of Canadian Poetry.'' Ed. A. J. M. Smith. First Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1943, p. 300. (Also in the 1948 and 1957 editions of the anthology.) * "A warm rain whispers, but the earth knows best." "The silver herring throbbed thick in my seine." ''Twentieth-Century Canadian Poetry.'' Ed.

Earle Birney Earle Alfred Birney (13 May 1904 – 3 September 1995) was a Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honour, for his poetry. Life Born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised on a farm in Eri ...

. Toronto: Ryerson, 1953, pp. 14–15. * "From soil somehow the poet's word." "My love is sleeping; but her body seems." "The silver herring throbbed thick in my seine." ''The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse.'' Ed. A. J. M. Smith. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1960, pp. 173–174. * "A warm rain whispers, but the earth knows best." "The silver herring throbbed thick in my seine." ''The Penguin Book of Canadian Verse.'' Ed.

Ralph Gustafson Ralph Barker Gustafson, CM (16 August 1909 – 29 May 1995) was a Canadian poet and professor at Bishop's University. Biography He was born in Lime Ridge, near Dudswell, Quebec on August 16, 1909. His mother was British, his father, Carl ...

. Revised Edition. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1967, p. 126. (Also in later editions.) * "Halibut Cove Harvest," "The silver herring throbbed thick in my seine," ''The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English.'' Ed.

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1983.Margaret Atwood ed. ''The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English.'' (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1983), 85-86. * "The silver herring throbbed thick in my seine." Jailbreaks: 99 Canadian Sonnets. Ed. Zachariah Wells. Windsor: Biblioasis, 2008, p. 35.

Pamphlets and periodicals

* * ''Protestant Digest''. Boston and New York, 1938-41. * ''The Protestant''. New York and Halifax, 1941-53. * ''Hungary: Christian or Pagan: An Eye-Witness Report''. ew York: New Christian Books, c.1950 * ''One''. Halifax: New Christian Books, 1951? * ''New Christian''. Halifax, 1953-55. * ''New Christian Pamphlet''. Halifax, 1955 ?* ''Man''. Halifax, 957-59?* ''New Man''. Pictou and Halifax, 1959-72. * ''Christ, Church And Communism.'' Gravenhurst, Ontario: Northern Book House, 1962. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy of ''Canadian Poetry: Studies/Documents/Reviews''.Burris Devanney, Sandra Campbell and Domenico Di Nardo.
Kenneth Leslie: A Preliminary Bibliography
." ''Canadian Poetry: Studies/Documents/Reviews'' No.05 (Fall/Winter 1979), UWO, Web, Apr. 15, 2011

References

External links

"Cape Breton Lullaby" (The Cottars)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Kenneth 1892 births 1974 deaths 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian poets Baptist socialists Canadian Baptists Canadian Christian socialists Canadian male poets Canadian songwriters Governor General's Award-winning poets People from Pictou County Sonneteers Writers from Nova Scotia 20th-century Baptists