James Wreford
James Wreford, known by the pen name J. Wreford Watson, was a prominent geographer and poet born in 1915 in Shensi, China, to missionary parents. He received his education in China and Scotland, graduating from Edinburgh University with a degree in geography. Wreford's professional journey included teaching geography at McMaster University in Canada and serving as chief geographer for the Canadian government, where he gained recognition as a skilled cartographer. He later returned to academia, taking on various roles at the University of Edinburgh.
In addition to his geographical work, Wreford was a talented poet whose first complete poetry collection, *Of Time and the Lover*, published in 1950, earned him the Governor General's Award. His poetry often weaves themes of faith, human love, and the natural world, characterized by disciplined form and rich imagery. Over his career, he published several poetry collections, with *Countryside Canada* in 1979 emphasizing the strength of Canadian culture through detailed descriptions of places. Wreford passed away in 1990, leaving a legacy as both an influential figure in geography and a respected voice in Canadian poetry.
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Subject Terms
James Wreford
Writer
- Born: February 8, 1915
- Birthplace: Shensi, China
- Died: September 18, 1990
- Place of death: Scotland
Biography
James Wreford is the pen name of James Wreford Watson. He was born in 1915 in Shensi, China, the son of James and Evelyn Russell Watson, who were missionaries. He went to school in China and then in Scotland, entering Edinburgh University as an undergraduate. He received an M.A. there in 1936, majoring in geography. In 1939, he married Jessie Black, a lecturer in education, with whom he had two children. They moved to Canada just before the outbreak of World War II and after Wreford had lectured for two years at the University of Sheffield in England.
In Canada, Wreford lectured in geography at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, from 1939 until 1949, earning his Ph.D. in 1945 from the University of Toronto. From 1949 until 1954, he was chief geographer and director of the geographical survey for the Canadian government, becoming one of the country’s foremost cartographers. He then accepted a position at the University of Edinburgh, where he taught and held various administrative positions from 1954 until 1975. Wreford was director of the Centre of Canadian Studies in Edinburgh from 1975 until 1982. He also became a member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Societies of Canada and of Scotland. Wreford died in 1990.
As a geographer, Wreford wrote a number of textbooks under the name J. Wreford Watson, including General Geography, North America: Its Countries and Regions, A Geography of Bermuda, and Social Geography of the United States. However, it was as a poet that he became better known to the Canadian public, although he also wrote short stories and book reviews. His first poems appeared in an anthology, Unit of Five, edited by Ronald Hambleton and published in 1944. Wreford’s first complete volume of poetry, Of Time and the Lover, was published in 1950 and won a Governor General’s Award.
As might be expected, much of the imagery of this poetry is geographical, geological, or meteorological. The poems express Wreford’s religious faith, especially faith in divine and human love to overcome the fallen nature of man and his world. There is often a sadness of tone in the poems, which mutes their hope. The form of his poetry is disciplined and formal, sometimes elliptical. Some of the poems contain especially memorable endings.
Wreford did not produce another collection of poetry until Countryside Canada, which came out in 1979. Again, there is the same discipline and intellectual control and expression of thought as in the previous volume. Much of the poetry is based on a series of places, ranging from one end of Canada to the other. It has been remarked that the collection’s purpose is to emphasize the strength of the Canadian culture and Wreford’s roots within it. These poems are detailed, naturalistic descriptions of place, out of which meaning emerges in a very concrete form.