First Statement
First Statement was a Canadian
What began as a mimeographed publication of a few stapled sheets grew within three years into a larger magazine of tentatively national significance (it had editorial representatives in Vancouver although its core circulation was small—about 75 copies per issue). A year into its history, Canadian poets Louis Dudek and Irving Layton joined the magazines editorial board; both would go on to become major figures in Canadian literature. The so-called First Statement Group aligned itself with the cosmopolitan aesthetic in Canadian poetry, drawing inspiration from such avant-garde American poets as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams. This placed the editorial policy of First Statement somewhat in opposition with that of Preview, which tended to favour such British anti-modernists as W. H. Auden and Dylan Thomas. Despite these differences, the rivalry between the two magazines was never strong, and A. M. Klein, F. R. Scott, and other important poets published in both periodicals.
In 1943, Sutherland published a review of Anderson's poetry in First Statement which suggested
In 1945 Sutherland, by now the major figurehead at First Statement, established First Statement Press, which outlived the magazine itself until well into the 1950s. Significant books published by First Statement Press included
In 1945 First Statement merged with Preview to become
References
- ^ John Sutherland, "The Writing of Patrick Anderson". First Statement, 1.19 (1943): 3– 6
- ^ ISBN 1551522179.
- ^ John Sutherland, "Retraction". First Statement, 1.20 (1943): cover.
Further reading
- Dudek, Louis, and Michael Gnarowski, eds. The Making of Modern Poetry in Canada. Toronto: Ryerson, 1967.
- "First Statement". Entry in The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. Ed. William Toye. Oxford University Press, 1983.
- Sutherland, John. Essays, Controversies and Poems. Ed. Miriam Waddington. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (NCL), 1972.
- Sutherland, John. The Letters of John Sutherland, 1942-1956. Ed. Bruce Whiteman. Toronto: ECW Press, 1992.