Milton James Rhode Acorn (March 30, 1923 – August 20, 1986), nicknamed ''The People's Poet'' by his peers, was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, writer, and playwright.

Early life

He was born in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, and grew up in Charlottetown. He joined the armed forces during

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 opposing ...

at the age of eighteen.

Career

During

, on a trans-

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 ...

crossing, Acorn suffered a wound from depth charges. The wound was severe enough for him to receive a disability pension from Veterans Affairs for most of his life. He returned to Prince Edward Island and moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec in 1956 and was for a time a member of the

Labor-Progressive Party The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959. Origins and initial success In the 1940 federal election, the Communist Party led a popular front in se ...

. He spent several years living at the Hotel Waverly in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario. In Montreal, he published some of his early poems in the political magazine, ''New Frontiers''. In 1956 he self-published a mimeographed chapbook, ''In Love and Anger,'' his first collection of poems. In the 1950s some of his poetry was published in the magazine ''Canadian Forum''. He was for a short time married to poet

Gwendolyn MacEwen Gwendolyn Margaret MacEwen (1 September 1941 – 29 November 1987) was a Canadian poet and novelist.Gwendoly ...

. In the mid-1960s, he moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and joined the

League for Socialist Action The League for Socialist Action was a Trotskyist organization in Canada. It was known by several names throughout its history, including the International Left Opposition (Trotskyist) of Canada, the Workers Party of Canada, the Socialist Policy Gr ...

. In 1967, Acorn helped found the "underground" newspaper ''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...

'' in Vancouver, BC.Coupey, Pierre. "Straight Beginnings: The Rise & Fall of the Underground Press", ''The Grape'' weekly newspaper #8, pages 12 and 13, March 8, 1972, Vancouver, BC, Canada. In 1969 he published his poetry collection ''I've Tasted My Blood''. Acorn was awarded the ''Canadian Poets Award'' in 1970 and the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...

in 1976 for his collection of poems, ''The Island Means Minago''.Downey, Donn. "Award-winning poet honored by peers", ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. August 22, 1986. In 1977, Acorn introduced the Jackpine sonnet, a form designed to be as irregular and spikey (and Canadian) as a

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...

tree, but with internal structure and integrity. Without a fixed number of lines and with varied line lengths, the Jackpine sonnet depends on interweaving

internal rhyme In poetry, internal rhyme, or middle rhyme, is rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines. By contrast, rhyme between line endings is known as end rhyme. Internal rhyme schemes can be denoted ...

assonance Assonance is a resemblance in the sounds of words/syllables either between their vowels (e.g., ''meat, bean'') or between their consonants (e.g., ''keep, cape''). However, assonance between consonants is generally called ''consonance'' in America ...

and occasional end- rhymes. In July 1986, he suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital. Acorn died in his home town of Charlottetown on August 20, 1986, due to complications associated with his heart condition and diabetes. According to fellow poet and friend Jim Deahl, he had "lost his will to live after the death of a younger sister."

Milton Acorn People's Poetry Award

In 1987, the Milton Acorn People's Poetry Award was established in his memory by Ted Plantos. It is presented annually to an outstanding "people's poet." The award was initially $250 (since raised to $500) and a medallion, modelled after the one given to Milton Acorn.

Acorn on film

In 1971 Acorn was the subject of a documentary, ''Milton Acorn: The People’s Poet'', which was aired on the CBC program ''Thirty Minutes''. The

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

produced two films on Acorn's life and works. The first is entitled ''In Love and Anger: Milton Acorn - Poet,'' and came out in 1984. The second is called ''A Wake for Milton''. It was produced in 1988.

Bibliography

*1956:''In Love and Anger'' *1960:''Against a League of Liars'' *1960:''The Brain's the Target'' *1963:''Jawbreakers'' () *1969:''I've Tasted My Blood'' *1971:''I Shout Love and On Shaving Off His Beard'' *1972:''More Poems for People'' *1975:''The Island'' *1977:''The Road to Charlottetown'' (with Cedric Smith) *1977:''Jackpine Sonnets'' *1982:''Captain Neal MacDougal'' & the Naked Goddess *1983:''Dig Up My Heart'' *1986:''Whiskey Jack'' HMS Press (Toronto)

Posthumous collections

*1987:''A Stand of Jackpine'' (with James Deahl,) *1987:''The Uncollected Acorn'' *1987:''I Shout Love and Other Poems'' *1988:''Hundred Proof Earth'' *1996:''To Hear the Faint Bells''

Anthologies

*2002:''Coastlines: The Poetry of Atlantic Canada'', ed. Anne Compton, Laurence Hutchman, Ross Leckie and Robin McGrath (Goose Lane Editions)

Discography

*''More Poems for People'' Audio CD reading Canadian Poetry Association, (1986 audio tape / 2001 CD)

Literary awards

*1970 Canadian Poets' Award, more commonly known as the People's Poet Award and Medal *1975 Governor General's Award *1977 Honorary Doctorate of Law Degree (from the

University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' ...

) *1986 Life member Canadian Poetry Association

References

External links

Atlantic Canadian Poets' Archive: Milton Acorn
- Biography, 1 poem (Knowing I Live in a Dark Age), poetry analysis, and bibliography.

- Biography and 6 poems (The Island, I Shout Love, What I Know of God is This, Hummingbird, Live With Me On Earth Under the Invisible Daylight Moon, The Natural History of Elephants)
Milton Acorn's
entry in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

Records of Milton Acorn are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acorn, Milton 1923 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets Governor General's Award-winning poets Writers from Charlottetown Chapbook writers Canadian socialists Canadian military personnel of World War II