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Robert Service: A Great Canadian Poet's Romance With The North
Robert William Service lived a life of adventure. Best known for his world-famous poems such as "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," he drew much of his inspiration from the great Canadian North. Despite his many adventures in Europe and around the world, the Yukon remained a strong influence on the poet until his death in 1958.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 28, 2022
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“Altitude Publishing” and “Amazing Stories” produced numerous Canadian histories and spotlights, including about the paranormal. They were insightful educational tableaux by local authors related to, or proud of, particular regional heritage. It appears the companies stopped publishing and fill orders on what they have, saturating 1998 to 2006. There are so many such vignettes; I doubt I will read half of them! I had read Elle Andra-Warner’s treatise of the Mounties and found it highly educational but on the grim side and there were too many liberties with adjectives. Her storytelling was perfect herein “Robert Service: A Great Canadian Poet’s Romance With The North”, 2004. I was what’s more, surprised to like Robert very much.
I had heard of him but was unaware that this Scottish-born writer, revered internationally, had settled with his parents and siblings in Canada! Milestones and connections abound all across it. His parents and siblings landed around Edmonton, he climbed the job ladder near Vancouver, and when the bank posted him in Yukon Territory: it yielded his first and most famous poems. Intending to self-publish his first compilation; the salesman of the Toronto printer took the manuscript to Thunder Bay and sold it immediately. Robert was no slouch about odd jobs, volunteering in the war, crossing politically dangerous borders, and exploring the world. He settled with his wife and daughters in France and loved his native Scotland but Canada was home, too.
Every author has critics or readers who aren’t on our wavelength. Some considered Robert’s poetry lowbrow. My Dad recalls it as very dramatic, robust showmanship that is made for delivering aloud. Colloquialism and plain-speaking abound; like realist paintings versus abstracts. I gave four stars because no poem is included. I have acquainted Robert without experiencing any of his work. I look forward to it.
“Altitude Publishing” and “Amazing Stories” produced numerous Canadian histories and spotlights, including about the paranormal. They were insightful educational tableaux by local authors related to, or proud of, particular regional heritage. It appears the companies stopped publishing and fill orders on what they have, saturating 1998 to 2006. There are so many such vignettes; I doubt I will read half of them! I had read Elle Andra-Warner’s treatise of the Mounties and found it highly educational but on the grim side and there were too many liberties with adjectives. Her storytelling was perfect herein “Robert Service: A Great Canadian Poet’s Romance With The North”, 2004. I was what’s more, surprised to like Robert very much.
I had heard of him but was unaware that this Scottish-born writer, revered internationally, had settled with his parents and siblings in Canada! Milestones and connections abound all across it. His parents and siblings landed around Edmonton, he climbed the job ladder near Vancouver, and when the bank posted him in Yukon Territory: it yielded his first and most famous poems. Intending to self-publish his first compilation; the salesman of the Toronto printer took the manuscript to Thunder Bay and sold it immediately. Robert was no slouch about odd jobs, volunteering in the war, crossing politically dangerous borders, and exploring the world. He settled with his wife and daughters in France and loved his native Scotland but Canada was home, too.
Every author has critics or readers who aren’t on our wavelength. Some considered Robert’s poetry lowbrow. My Dad recalls it as very dramatic, robust showmanship that is made for delivering aloud. Colloquialism and plain-speaking abound; like realist paintings versus abstracts. I gave four stars because no poem is included. I have acquainted Robert without experiencing any of his work. I look forward to it.
May 30, 2020
As I searched for more info about Robert Service, this was one of the first books I was able to find on him. I suspect those living in Canada might have better access to biographical books on him than I here in the US. This particular small book felt to be as much as a marketing tool for Canada as it was a means of educating anyone interested in Robert Service.
The author does an okay job, given what must have been budget and space limits, hence my 2 star rating. This book does the job.
He starts out in Scotland and ends out in France with a French wife, with lots of stops in between. As his work began to be read and woven into lives, he was interviewed and questioned and in the process made it clear that he didn't think of himself as a poet, but rather as a rhymer and versifier. Charles Lindberg took a book of his poems when he made his famous flight across the Atlantic.
His obituary in the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph said:
"A great poet died last week in Lancieux, France, at the age of 84. He was not a poet's poet. Fancy-Dan dilettantes will dispute the description 'great'. He was a people's poet. To the people, he was great. They understood him, and knew that any verse carrying the by-line of Robert W. Service would be a lilting thing, clear, clean and power-packed, beating out a story with a dramatic intensity that made the nerves tingle."
As a companion read to this book I read Ballads of a Cheechako (a cheechako is a tenderfoot, greenhorn and was first used in 1897 - used chiefly in Alaska and comes from Chinook jargon). The moment I opened that book I was reading it out loud, as that is what it seemed to demand from me and how I got the most out of it. It was awesome. Reminded me of an elementary school teacher who loved choral readings and for who we did them every week, right along with our music time.
2.5 stars for this very helpful book, and I'm still on the hunt for a more robust bio of this author. Always welcoming recommendations and feedback!
The author does an okay job, given what must have been budget and space limits, hence my 2 star rating. This book does the job.
He starts out in Scotland and ends out in France with a French wife, with lots of stops in between. As his work began to be read and woven into lives, he was interviewed and questioned and in the process made it clear that he didn't think of himself as a poet, but rather as a rhymer and versifier. Charles Lindberg took a book of his poems when he made his famous flight across the Atlantic.
His obituary in the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph said:
"A great poet died last week in Lancieux, France, at the age of 84. He was not a poet's poet. Fancy-Dan dilettantes will dispute the description 'great'. He was a people's poet. To the people, he was great. They understood him, and knew that any verse carrying the by-line of Robert W. Service would be a lilting thing, clear, clean and power-packed, beating out a story with a dramatic intensity that made the nerves tingle."
As a companion read to this book I read Ballads of a Cheechako (a cheechako is a tenderfoot, greenhorn and was first used in 1897 - used chiefly in Alaska and comes from Chinook jargon). The moment I opened that book I was reading it out loud, as that is what it seemed to demand from me and how I got the most out of it. It was awesome. Reminded me of an elementary school teacher who loved choral readings and for who we did them every week, right along with our music time.
2.5 stars for this very helpful book, and I'm still on the hunt for a more robust bio of this author. Always welcoming recommendations and feedback!
December 28, 2021
Robert Service was a fascinating character, adventurer extraordinaire, famous writer of verse and books. His "Rhymes of a Red Cross Man" published in 1916 was on the Bestseller's list for nine months. Some of his books have not been out of print. Four of his books were made into a movie and he had a role in one of them opposite Marlene Dietrich. His "Cremation of Sam McGee" is one of my favourite poems (okay its the only poem i like).
He was a war correspondent in both world wars plus the forgotten Balkan War before that. Many of the boats he travelled on were sunk in wartimes and homes he lived in bombed after he left. He travelled to the Yukon by ship and canoe along the Canadian route via Athabasca River, to Slave River, to Great Slave Lake, to the McKenzie River, to the Peel River, to the Bell River, Porcupine River and up the Yukon River finally to Dawson City. I've had the good fortune to have visited his cabin there.
It is too bad this was a mediocre telling of an exciting rewarding life.
He was a war correspondent in both world wars plus the forgotten Balkan War before that. Many of the boats he travelled on were sunk in wartimes and homes he lived in bombed after he left. He travelled to the Yukon by ship and canoe along the Canadian route via Athabasca River, to Slave River, to Great Slave Lake, to the McKenzie River, to the Peel River, to the Bell River, Porcupine River and up the Yukon River finally to Dawson City. I've had the good fortune to have visited his cabin there.
It is too bad this was a mediocre telling of an exciting rewarding life.
August 8, 2024
Compelling bio of the famous Yukon poet and novelist. Author Elle Andra-Warner weaves a brisk tale of Service as wanderlust, as he moves from England to the U.S. and northwest Canada, and earns his reputation alongside other northern chroniclers, like Jack London. Later, Service tackled World War One, where he was an ambulance driver, and experienced his drama firsthand, instead of merely fictionalizing characters he had met. While this book is heavily dependent on secondary sources and doesn’t closely examine Service’s literary work, it is a very interesting read.
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