Archibald Lampman
Archibald Lampman was a prominent Canadian poet born in 1861 in Morpeth, Ontario. The son of an Anglican minister, he was educated at home alongside his three sisters before attending Trinity College School and later Trinity College in Toronto. His early literary contributions appeared in the college's student journal, and he became involved in various literary societies. After a brief teaching stint, Lampman worked in the civil service in Ottawa, where he formed valuable connections with influential literary figures, including J. E. Collins and Duncan Campbell Scott. In 1887, he married Maud Playter and had three children. Lampman's poetry gained recognition, particularly with the publication of his collection *Among the Millet, and Other Poems* in 1888, which was well-received in Canada and Great Britain. Despite his relatively short life, ending at age thirty-seven due to an accident during a camping trip, Lampman's work has left a lasting impact on Canadian literature, with a memorial edition published posthumously to support his family.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Archibald Lampman
Poet
- Born: November 17, 1861
- Birthplace: Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
- Died: February 10, 1899
Biography
Poet Archibald Lampman was born in Morpeth, Ontario, Canada, in 1861, the son of Reverend Archibald Lampman, an Anglican minister, and his wife, Susannah Gessner Lampman. His parents had immigrated to Canada from England and were loyal to the United Empire. Lampman and his three sisters, Sarah Isabelle, Annie Margaret, and Caroline Stewart, were tutored at home even though his parents had founded a school. It was expected that Lampman would teach once he finished his education.
His father traveled with ministering assignments when Lampman was a boy, so his early schooling was varied. He finished his secondary schooling, thoroughly British and Anglican, at Trinity College School, Port Hope, and went on to Trinity College, Toronto. The student journal there, Rouge et Noir, was the first to publish his poetry and essays. He became involved with the college’s literary institute and its secret literary society, Episkopon. After graduation, he taught for a month at Orangeville, Ontario, and then moved to British Columbia.
Through his school connections, he was given a job at the post office department in Ottawa, and he remained a civil servant until his death. In Ottawa, a small Ontario town that was the Canadian capital, Lampman discovered a group of intelligentsia. He met his “literary father,” J. E. Collins, a famous Toronto journalist. Lampman’s boss at his civil servant job was William Dawson LeSueur, an intellectual radical. Another civil servant, future poet Duncan Campbell Scott, became Lampman’s best friend. Lampman also met and befriended Maud Playter, whom he married in 1887; her father was a journal editor. The couple later had three children: Natalie, Arnold, who died in infancy, and Archibald.
Lampman’s work was published in Canadian and American journals. Among the Millet, and Other Poems, a collection of his poetry published in 1888, was also published in Great Britain. The volume was very well received. Lampman died at the age of thirty-seven after he became overly exerted while on a camping trip. After his death, Scott created a large memorial edition of Lampman’s poetry, with proceeds earmarked for the Lampman family.