Helena Coleman (April 27, 1860 – December 7, 1953) was a Canadian poet, music teacher, and writer.

Early life

Helena Jane Coleman was born on April 27, 1860 in

Newcastle, Ontario Newcastle is a community in the municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The community inherits the former name of the present-day municipality which it belongs to. Newcastle is located about 80 km east of Toronto, and ...

, to the Rev. Francis Coleman, a Methodist minister,John William Garvin
''Canadian Poets and Poetry''
(Frederick A. Stokes Company 1916): 205-212. and his second wife, English-born Jane C. Gould. Helena Coleman's father's first wife, Emmeline Maria Adams Coleman, died on June 23, 1858, two years before Helena was born. Helena had five older half-brothers. Emmeline (and Helena's half-siblings) were descendants of

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

. Emmeline was also the sister of educator Mary Electa Adams.) Some sources incorrectly ascribe Helena to the Adams genealogical line with her half-siblings. Helena Coleman attended Ontario Ladies' College in

Whitby, Ontario Whitby is a town in Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region in Ontario, Canada. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax, Ontario, Ajax and west of Oshawa, on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is home to the headquarters of D ...

, with further study in Germany.Jean O'Grady
''Margaret Addison: A Biography''
(McGill- Queen's University Press 2001): 48.

Career

Coleman taught piano at Ontario Ladies' College from 1880 to 1892, as head of the music department, while her brothers' aunt Mary Electa Adams was the principal. There she was a friend and colleague of

Margaret Addison Margaret Eleanor Theodora Addison (October 21, 1868 - December 18, 1940) was a Canadian educator and the sixth woman to graduate from Victoria College. She was the first dean of women at Victoria College, Toronto,Jean O’Grady, “ADDISON, MAR ...

, who became a dean of the school. Coleman was also a friend of New Zealand writer Edith Joan Lyttelton, during her stays in Canada. Coleman was a mentor to Canadian poet

Marjorie Pickthall Marjorie Lowry Christie Pickthall (14 September 1883, in Gunnersbury, London – 22 April 1922, in Vancouver) was a Canadian writer who was born in England but lived in Canada from the time she was seven. She was once "thought to be the best Can ...

. Her friendship with fellow Canadian poet

Ethelwyn Wetherald Ethelwyn Wetherald (26 April 1857 – 9 March 1940) was a Canadian poet and journalist, published across Canada and the United States. Life and career Wetherald was born of English Quaker parents at Rockwood, Ontario, on April 26, 1857. She was ...

was especially intimate.Jennifer Chambers
"'You Woman-Hearted, Poet-Brained Wonder Worker,': The Poetic Dialogue of Love Between Ethelwyn Wetherald and Helena Coleman"
''Canadian Poetry'' 57 (Fall/Winter 2005): 65-85. Coleman's poems appeared under dozens of pseudonyms (using masculine, feminine, and indeterminate names) in many Canadian and American magazines, including ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'', and ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...

'', until 1906, when she published '' Songs and Sonnets'' (1906) under her own name, by the Tennyson Club of Toronto. Further poetry collections were '' Marching Men: War Verses'' (1917) and ''Songs'' (1937). Her stories and articles continued to appear under various pseudonyms. Another book by her, '' Sheila and Others'' (1920), was a collection of short stories and bore the byline "Winifred Cotter".Helena Coleman Fonds
E. J. Pratt Library, Special Collections, Victoria University. She was a member of the

Canadian Authors Association The Canadian Authors Association is Canada's oldest association for writers and authors. The organization has published several periodicals, organized local chapters and events for Canadian writers, and sponsors writing awards, including the Gover ...

, and of the

University Women's Club of Toronto The University Women's Club of Toronto is a Canadian organization that was founded in 1903 to promote women's education. Its parent organization is Canadian Federation of University Women. History The University Women's Club of Toronto was fou ...

Personal life

Helena Coleman used crutches that she called her "helpers", after surviving polio in childhood. After 1928 she used a wheelchair. Coleman lived most of her life in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

with her brother Arthur, and with a niece, Helen Coleman. She died in 1953, aged 93 years, in Toronto.Elcie Pomeroy
"Tribute to Helena Coleman, Poet Native of Village of Newcastle"
''The Canadian Statesman'' (January 14, 1954): 6. Her papers are archived in the E. J. Pratt Library at

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

References

External links

Poems by Coleman
at ''Sonnets.org''.
Coleman
in SFU Digitized Collections,

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

, Coll. Canada's Early Women Writers (with a photograph) {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Helena 1860 births 1953 deaths Canadian women poets 19th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian women in World War I Canadian people of English descent People from Clarington Canadian music educators 19th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian women music educators Educators with disabilities Polio survivors Poets from Ontario