Susan Frances Harrison
Susan Frances Harrison was an influential figure in Canada's cultural landscape, known for her contributions as a writer, music critic, and educator. Born in Toronto to John and Frances Riley, she began her literary career at a young age, publishing poetry under the pseudonyms Medusa and Seranus. Although her first passion was music, where she collaborated on an opera, she faced challenges in that field and turned her focus to writing. Harrison married John W. F. Harrison, an organist, and the couple lived in Ottawa before settling in Toronto, where she became active in literary and music circles.
In addition to editing and critiquing for various publications, she served as principal of the Rosedale Branch of the Toronto Conservatory of Music for two decades. Her notable work includes "The Canadian Birthday Book," an anthology of poetry, and the novel "The Forest of Bourg-Marie," which explored themes of national identity in Canada. Harrison was particularly recognized for her efforts to support and promote female Canadian writers, using her editorial influence to create opportunities for others. Through her multifaceted career, she made significant contributions to Canadian literature and music, leaving a lasting legacy in her community.
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Susan Frances Harrison
- Born: February 24, 1859
- Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Died: May 8, 1935
- Place of death:
Biography
Susan Frances Harrison was a member of central Canada’s cultural élite. The daughter of John and Frances Riley, she was born and received her early education in Toronto before continuing her studies in Montreal. At age sixteen, she began contributing poetry to the Canadian Illustrated News, publishing it under the name Medusa. She later published much of her work under the pseudonym Seranus.
Harrison’s first love was music. She wanted to make music her career, but the obstacles to following such a course were sufficiently intimidating and she reluctantly faced the reality of making her mark elsewhere. As a composer, she worked for two years with F. A. Dixon on an opera entitled Pipandor, but she and her collaborator were unable to arrange a performance and could find no one willing to publish the work. She comments on the disappointment and disillusionment sparked by the rejection of this opera in the first story in her first book, Crowded Out! And Other Sketches, a collection of ten of her stories and a novella.
In 1879, she married an immigrant from England, John W. F. Harrison, an organist and choirmaster. For the first seven years of their marriage, the couple lived in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where Susan worked as a correspondent for the Detroit Free Press and her husband was credited with transforming the musical life of Ottawa. In 1886, the Harrisons moved to Toronto, where they remained for the rest of their lives and raised their two sons.
During her first six months in Toronto, Susan was the music critic for Week and later served as the publication’s acting editor and literary editor. She spent twenty years as principal of the Rosedale Branch of the Toronto Conservatory of Music and was a contributing editor of the Conservatory Monthly. Her anthology of Canadian poetry written in both English and French, The Canadian Birthday Book, appeared in 1887 and was well received. At the same time, she was publishing her own verse regularly in British and American journals.
Harrison offered literary study to small groups in her home beginning in 1893. The success of this enterprise encouraged her to present a series of lectures on the music of French Canada in 1896 and 1897.
Harrison succeeded in striking a balance in her stories between sentimentality and irony. This is particularly evident in her novel The Forest of Bourg-Marie, in which she ruminates on the quest of many northern Canadians for a true national identity. Although it took her ten years to find a publisher for this book, which finally appeared in 1898, the novel was well received in the United States and elicited enthusiastic comments in The Nation, a quality magazine known for its high literary standards.
Harrison was venerated in Canadian literary circles. She used her position to promote and encourage other Canadian writers, particularly women, who often had more difficulty than men in finding outlets for their writing. As an editor, she did a great deal to promote the cause of women writers.