Roy Daniells, (April 6, 1902 – April 13, 1979) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

professor. He helped build the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

's creative writing department and fostered the careers of several major Canadian writers.

Education and career

Daniells was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(UK) on April 6, 1902, but received the bulk of his education in Canada following his family's relocation to

Victoria, BC Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

in 1910. He attended

(UBC) and

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, receiving a Ph.D. from the latter in 1936. Thereafter, he worked at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

, heading its English department until 1946 when he took a position at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

UBC. When Garnet Sedgewick retired in 1948, Daniells became department head, holding that post until 1965. During that time, he helped establish a Creative Writing Department at UBC and also promoted the university's funding of studies in Canadian Literature. In 1965, Daniells was named the first University Professor of English Language and Literature. Daniells helped the writing careers of

Margaret Avison Margaret Avison, (April 23, 1918 – July 31, 2007) was a Canadian poet who twice won Canada's Governor General's Award and has also won its Griffin Poetry Prize.Michael Gnarowski,Avison, Margaret" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig ...

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 in the North-West Territories' District o ...

Joy Coghill Joy Dorothy Coghill-Thorne, CM, (May 13, 1926 – January 20, 2017) was a Canadian actress, director, and writer. Her obituary in ''The Vancouver Sun'' described her as having had "a seven-decade run at the top of the Vancouver theatre world." ...

Daryl Duke Daryl Duke (8 March 1929 – 21 October 2006) was a Canadian film and television director. Biography Duke was born at Vancouver, British Columbia, where he became one of CBC Television's earliest regional producers. His career continued with C ...

Roderick Haig-Brown Roderick Langmere Haig-Brown (February 21, 1908 – October 9, 1976) was a Canadian writer and conservationist. Early life Haig-Brown was born in Lancing, Sussex, England on February 21, 1908. His father, Alan Haig-Brown, was a teacher a ...

Eli Mandel Eli Mandel (December 3, 1922 – September 3, 1992) was a Canadian poet, editor of many Canadian anthologies, and literary academic. Biography Eli Mandel died in relative obscurity. A series of strokes had left him unable to write and, as a ...

Margaret Laurence Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...

Eric Nicol Eric Patrick Nicol (December 28, 1919 – February 2, 2011) was a Canadians, Canadian writer, best known as a longtime humour columnist for the Vancouver, British Columbia newspaper ''The Province''. He also published over 40 books, both origin ...

, Sheila Watson,

Phyllis Webb Phyllis Webb (April 8, 1927 – November 11, 2021) was a Canadian poet and broadcaster. Webb's poetry had diverse influences, ranging from neo-Confucianism to the field theory of composition developed by the Black Mountain poets. Critics have ...

Adele Wiseman Adele Wiseman (May 21, 1928 – June 1, 1992) was a Canadian author. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and psychology from the University of Manitoba in 1949. Her parents were Russian Jews who emigr ...

, and

George Woodcock George Woodcock (May 8, 1912 – January 28, 1995) was a Canadian writer of political biography and history, an anarchist thinker, a philosopher, an essayist and literary critic. He was also a poet and published several volumes of travel wri ...

, among others. He retired in 1974. There is a biography of Daniells by author Sandra Djwa.

Publications

As an academic, Daniells had broad focus, specializing in

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

and seventeenth century English literature, but also published widely on Canadian literature and history, including the 1969 volume ''Alexander Mackenzie and the North West'' (Great Travellers Series, London, Faber and Faber). He was also a poet with two published volumes.

Awards and honours

* first University Professor of English Language and Literature (1965) *

Lorne Pierce Medal The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Canada to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical literature written in either English or French. The medal was first ...

(1970) *

Companion of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

(1971)

Sources

Roy Daniells Fonds

BC Bookworld: Roy Daniells

External links

Roy Daniells
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniells, Roy 1902 births 1979 deaths Canadian literary critics Companions of the Order of Canada British emigrants to Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Writers from London University of British Columbia alumni Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Academic staff of the University of Manitoba University of Toronto alumni Poetry instructors

Education and career

Publications

Awards and honours

Further reading

Sources

External links