Tom Marshall
Tom Marshall was a Canadian poet and literary scholar born on April 9, 1938, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He pursued his education at Queen's College in Kingston, Ontario, where he earned a B.A. in history and an M.A. in English, focusing his master's thesis on the poetry of A. M. Klein. Although he began doctoral studies in London, he did not complete his Ph.D. Marshall produced significant literary criticism, including works such as "The Psychic Mariner" and "Harsh and Lovely Land," the latter being influential in Canadian studies. He taught literature and criticism at Queen's College from 1964 until his death in 1993, achieving the rank of full professor and contributing to various poetry periodicals. As a member of the Kingston poetic community, he collaborated with notable poets like Michael Ondaatje. In addition to his essays and criticism, Marshall is best known for his poetry collections, particularly "The Elements: Poems, 1960-1975," which reflect on the Canadian landscape and its people through thematic explorations of the four elements. His legacy is marked by his ability to capture the essence of Canada in his thoughtful and nuanced poetry.
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Tom Marshall
Poet
- Born: April 9, 1938
- Birthplace: Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
- Died: 1993
- Place of death: Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Biography
The son of Douglas and Helen Marshall, poet Thomas Archibald Marshall was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, on April 9, 1938. His father was a chemical engineer who contributed to wartime projects for the Allies in the early 1940’s; consequently, Tom Marshall spent part of his youth in the United States in cities where his father was stationed.
Marshall completed undergraduate and graduate degrees at Queen’s College in Kingston, Ontario. He earned a B.A. in history in 1961, followed by an M.A. in English in 1965. His master’s thesis was a critique of the poetry of A. M. Klein. Although Marshall began doctoral studies that took him to London, he never completed his Ph.D. His research led to two volumes of literary criticism in 1970: The Psychic Mariner, an analysis of the poetry of D. H. Lawrence, and A. M. Klein, a reworking of his master’s thesis. His 1979 Harsh and Lovely Land: The Major Canadian Poets and the Making of a Canadian Tradition remains a landmark work in Canadian studies.
Beginning in 1964 and continuing until his death in 1993, Marshall taught courses in literature and criticism at Queen’s College and achieved the rank of full professor. In addition to teaching, he was instrumental to the success of periodicals devoted to the study of poetry. As a young writer, Marshall kept company with other emerging Kingston poets, a group that included Michael Ondaatje and David Helwig. Marshall was chief editor of the poetry magazine Quarry and served as poetry editor of Canadian Forum from 1973 to 1978.
Marshall’s considerable success as a literary scholar is exceeded only by his contributions to poetry. The Elements: Poems, 1960-1975 is his signature work and contains poems extracted from previous collections. Earlier volumes, including The Silences of Fire and The Earth-Book, explored the properties of individual elements (fire, water, earth, and air) as a reflection and construction of the Canadian landscape and its people. For The Elements, Marshall revised many of his original poems and reorganized them into overlapping thematic cycles.
Critics consider Marshall’s works of fiction to be of lesser literary merit than his poetry. Rosemary Goal and Adele at the End of the Day are comic novels of manners. The stories in Glass Houses feature people who ponder the intricacies of failed or failing relationships. Most of Marshall’s characters come to terms with their loss and longing, while a few, content in their discontent, wallow in memories.
An author who published in multiple genres including poetry, fiction, and criticism, Tom Marshall’s chief legacy remains his poems. Known as one of the Kingston poets, Marshall captured his native land and its people through his carefully wrought and thoughtful meditations on the four elements.