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The uncollected Acorn
Book by Acorn, Milton
157 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1987
About the author
Milton Acorn
28 books5 followersMilton James Rhode Acorn (March 30, 1923 – August 20, 1986), nicknamed The People's Poet by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Acorn was a World War II veteran. On a trans-Atlantic crossing, he suffered a wound from depth charges. The wound was severe enough for him to receive a disability pension from Veterans Affairs for most of his life. He returned to Prince Edward Island, and then moved to Montreal in 1956. He also spent several years living at the Hotel Waverly in Toronto.
In Montreal, he published some of his early poems in the political magazine, New Frontiers. He also self-published a mimeographed chapbook, In Love and Anger, his first collection of poems.
He was for a short time married to poet Gwendolyn MacEwen.
In 1967, Acorn helped found the then-"underground" newspaper The Georgia Straight in Vancouver, BC.
Acorn was awarded the Canadian Poets Award in 1970 and the Governor General's Award in 1976 for his collection of poems, The Island Means Minago.
In July 1986, he suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital. Acorn died in his home town of Charlottetown on August 20, 1986, due to complications associated with his heart condition and diabetes. According to fellow poet and close friend Warren Kinthompson, he had "lost his will to live after the death of a younger sister."
Acorn was a World War II veteran. On a trans-Atlantic crossing, he suffered a wound from depth charges. The wound was severe enough for him to receive a disability pension from Veterans Affairs for most of his life. He returned to Prince Edward Island, and then moved to Montreal in 1956. He also spent several years living at the Hotel Waverly in Toronto.
In Montreal, he published some of his early poems in the political magazine, New Frontiers. He also self-published a mimeographed chapbook, In Love and Anger, his first collection of poems.
He was for a short time married to poet Gwendolyn MacEwen.
In 1967, Acorn helped found the then-"underground" newspaper The Georgia Straight in Vancouver, BC.
Acorn was awarded the Canadian Poets Award in 1970 and the Governor General's Award in 1976 for his collection of poems, The Island Means Minago.
In July 1986, he suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital. Acorn died in his home town of Charlottetown on August 20, 1986, due to complications associated with his heart condition and diabetes. According to fellow poet and close friend Warren Kinthompson, he had "lost his will to live after the death of a younger sister."
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 1, 2025
For no mathematics measures the pain
That makes its home in the den
Of one man's heart, except it's the same
As the pain of a million men.
Each jobless man is a world gone grey;
Where a worry walks in a haze;
Where life is a habit that flesh has learned
And drags thru a desert of days.
-excerpt from a political poem about Ottawa men and statistics. Fitting for this day and age and officious [internet] politics.
3.5 rounded up, I believe has more to do with the choice of poems if it's to be seen a low rating. My first choice was to acquire Dig Up My Heart but as there is a shortage of Milton Acorn's books available I went with his uncollected. There was one copy available for about sixty dollars used that I decided was too pricey. I've noticed quite an increase in books lately.
That makes its home in the den
Of one man's heart, except it's the same
As the pain of a million men.
Each jobless man is a world gone grey;
Where a worry walks in a haze;
Where life is a habit that flesh has learned
And drags thru a desert of days.
-excerpt from a political poem about Ottawa men and statistics. Fitting for this day and age and officious [internet] politics.
3.5 rounded up, I believe has more to do with the choice of poems if it's to be seen a low rating. My first choice was to acquire Dig Up My Heart but as there is a shortage of Milton Acorn's books available I went with his uncollected. There was one copy available for about sixty dollars used that I decided was too pricey. I've noticed quite an increase in books lately.
March 29, 2026
Rewriting my review. I promise the cause of my deleting it is not repression. I hate the fact that my original review is weighted too heavily on my experience reading this, and not enough on the book itself. I've been telling myself that I need to start drafting and editing my reviews before publishing them, if I'm going to put so much into them. This one finally bothers me enough to actually act upon.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews