Milton Acorn
Milton Acorn was a notable Canadian poet, recognized for his contributions to literature and his advocacy for social justice. Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 1923, Acorn faced significant challenges early in life, including health issues and a lack of formal education opportunities due to the impending World War II. He enlisted in the army at a young age, but an ear injury during his service led to prolonged hospitalization and eventual discharge. After the war, he struggled with various jobs while battling depression and paranoia, partly influenced by his leftist political views.
Acorn's literary career began in earnest in the 1950s, and he became a pivotal figure in Canada's poetry scene. His 1956 self-published collection, *In Love and Anger*, marked the start of his commitment to poetry as a career. Throughout the 1960s, he gained recognition with works such as *Jawbreakers* and was celebrated as the "People's Poet" following the public's support for him after an award snub. Acorn's poetry often reflected themes of common people's struggles and political causes, which resonated widely. He won the Governor General's Award in 1975 for *The Island Means Minago* and played a significant role in fostering a vibrant literary community across Canada. Acorn passed away in 1986, leaving a lasting legacy in the Canadian literary landscape.
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Subject Terms
Milton Acorn
Canadian poet and peer declared People's Poet.
- Born: March 30, 1923
- Birthplace: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
- Died: August 20, 1986
- Place of death: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Biography
Milton Acorn was the first of five children born into a modest household in Prince Edward Island’s provincial capital. His father worked for Customs and Excise, and his mother took dictation and kept account books. As a child, Acorn was small of stature and often ill. He fought for himself, however, and developed a combative nature. With World War II approaching, Acorn had no early opportunity for higher education. In 1939, he enlisted in the army at age sixteen. Less than three years later, en route to Europe, Acorn sustained an ear injury that resulted in temporary hearing loss. Inner ear problems kept him hospitalized for a year. He was discharged in January 1943, returned to Charlottetown, received war medals and eventually regained his hearing. Fighting depression, Acorn moved from one job to another at a hospital, fire department, shipping dock, government office and carpenter shop.
Acorn’s first published poem, “Grey Girls Gallop,” appeared in New Frontiers in the winter of 1953. From an affair came the birth of a son, who was given up for adoption and later remembered in Acorn’s poem, “Letter to My Red-Headed Son.” His occasional bouts of depression were coupled with paranoia, exacerbated by surveillance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for his leftist views. The year 1956 proved momentous, as he self-published his first poetry book, In Love and Anger, and sold his carpentry tools as part of his determination to make a career of poetry. With Al Purdy for a few years he published Moment, a literary magazine, and wrote The Brain’s the Target. Gwendolyn MacEwan, a very young writer, became his bride in 1962. Acorn became a key figure in a successful freedom-of-speech protest, but the victory did not keep him from a drinking problem, brought on perhaps in part by his quickly crumbling marriage. Nevertheless, two big events in 1963 cemented his literary reputation: the publication of his book Jawbreakers, and an edition of Fiddlehead set apart for his poetry. After Gwendolyn won a divorce in 1966, Acorn plunged deeper into political causes, championing the nationalist movement and protesting both the Vietnam War and the cultural encroachment of the United States.
When his collection I’ve Tasted My Blood did not receive a national award, devoted readers and fellow authors declared him the People’s Poet and gave him a medal. From that day in 1970, Acorn took the role seriously and traveled the country, developing an informal network of literary enthusiasts wherever he visited. Thereafter, his poetry books sold well in Canada, and he won the Governor General’s Award in 1975 for The Island Means Minago. Acorn, responsible for attracting many new readers to poetry and for knitting together the far-flung literary community of his country, spoke for the common man and for justice in both his actions and his words until his health failed. Having lived in various provinces and great cities, he returned to his birthplace and died at age sixty-three, his place secure in national literature.
Author Works
Poetry:
In Love and Anger, 1956
The Brain's the Target, 1960
Against a League of Liars, 1960
Jawbreakers, 1963
I've Tasted My Blood, 1969
I Shout Love and on Shaving off His Beard, 1971
More Poems for People, 1972
The Island Means Minago, 1975
The Road to Charlottetown, 1977 (with Cedric Smith)
Jackpine Sonnets, 1977
Dig up My Heart, 1982
Captain Neal MacDougal and the Naked Goddess, 1982
Whiskey Jack, 1986
A Stand of Jackpine, 1987 (with James Deahl)
I Shout Love and Other Poems, 1987
The Uncollected Acorn, 1987
Hundred-Proof Earth, 1988
To Hear the Faint Bells, 1996
Bibliography
Barker, Terry. After Acorn: Meditations on the Message of Canada's People's Poet. Mekler & Deahl, 1999. Presents an analysis of Acorn's work based on the thought of figures such as Eric Voegelin, C. S. Lewis, and George Grant.
Heft, Harold, and Joe Rosenblatt. "No Man Is an Island." Review of The Edge of Home: Milton Acorn from the Island, edited by Anne Compton. Books in Canada, Apr. 2003, pp. 27–31. Provides a review of Anne Compton's edited volume of selected Acorn poems, arguing that it is important for Acorn's work to continue being read and studied as the messages and themes characteristic of his poems remain relevant.
Lemm, Richard. Milton Acorn: In Love and Anger. Carleton UP, 1998. Provides details of Acorn's life in an effort to explore possible inspiration for his poetry.
MacFarlane, David. "The People's Choice." Books in Canada, June/July 1981, pp. 3–5. Provides a profile of Acorn largely based on an interview.
"Milton Acorn." Historica Canada: The Canadian Encyclopedia, 4 Apr. 2014, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/milton-acorn/. Accessed 27 June 2017. An overview of Acorn's life and work.