B. K. Sandwell
Bernard Keble Sandwell was a prominent Canadian literary critic and humorist recognized for his role in promoting Canadian nationalism during the early to mid-20th century. Born in 1876 in England, Sandwell immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of 12. He pursued higher education at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto, earning first-class honors in classics. His career spanned journalism and academia, including positions as a drama editor for the Montreal Herald and a professor of economics at McGill University. Sandwell was also the rector of Queen's University from 1943 to 1947.
He is well-known for his influential works, particularly "The Privacity Agent and Other Modest Proposals" and "The Diversions of Duchesstown, and Other Essays." His writings contributed significantly to the understanding of Canadian national identity, with notable publications like "La Nation canadienne" and "Cities of Canada." As the editor-in-chief of the periodical Saturday Night, he transformed it into a significant platform for commentary on Canadian public affairs. Sandwell's extensive contributions to literature, alongside his involvement in the Canadian Authors Association, have left a lasting impact on Canadian culture and thought. He passed away in 1954, leaving behind a legacy as a key figure in the development of Canadian nationalism and literature.
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B. K. Sandwell
- Born: December 6, 1876
- Birthplace: Ipswich, England
- Died: December 7, 1954
Biography
Canadian literary critic and humorist Bernard Keble Sandwell was a proponent and popularizer of Canadian nationalism in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Ipswich, England, in 1876 to a Congregational clergyman and his wife, Sandwell and his parents immigrated to Canada in 1888. He attended Upper Canada College, and then the University of Toronto, where he graduated with first class honors in classics in 1897.
After a short stint as a journalist at the Toronto News, he went back to England for a few years, working as a journalist there as well. Upon returning to Canada and marrying, he became the drama editor for the Montreal Herald, and then an associate editor for the Montreal Financial News. He received an academic appointment as a professor of economics at McGill University in 1919. From then until shortly before his death in 1954, he maintained both editorial and academic positions, including serving as the rector of Queen’s University from 1943 through 1947.
As a humorist and advocate of Canadian national identity, Sandwell is best remembered for his two works of anecdotal popular history: The Privacity Agent and Other Modest Proposals (1928) and The Diversions of Duchesstown, and Other Essays (1955). Two works from the early 1950’s, Cities of Canada, and La Nation canadienne, along with 1941’s The Canadian Peoples, were seminal in documenting and describing a Canadian national character. Along with his mentor Stephen Leacock, Sandwell was part of the coterie of scholars and writers who formed the influential Canadian Authors Association in 1921, an activity which likely contributed to his being named to the Royal Society of Canada in 1925. Sandwell also was awarded honorary degrees from Queen’s University in 1942 and from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec, in 1943.
Sandwell wrote extensively on a wide range of topics relevant to Canadian political, economic, and social life, publishing in a wide variety of venues. La Nation canadienne was published as part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Profil des Nations series. Canada and United States Neutrality, written in 1939 as Sandwell watched the increasingly threatening events in Europe, was one of the Oxford University Press’s Pamphlets on World Affairs. These academic efforts were well respected as well as influential in shaping popular opinion.
Perhaps Sandwell’s most significant literary contributions were made in connection with the popular periodical Saturday Night, for which he served as editor in chief beginning in 1932. Sandwell worked to transform the magazine into a weighty commentary on Canadian public life, discontinuing the society column and expanding coverage of politics and the fine arts. The magazine was a significant focus of Sandwell’s professional activities until his retirement in 1951, after which he contributed a weekly column to the magazine until his death.