Oliver Goldsmith (Canadian poet)

This article is about the Canadian poet of the 19th century. For the 18th-century Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright and physician, see Oliver Goldsmith.
Oliver Goldsmith
Born1794
St. Andrews, Colony of New Brunswick
Died1861
Liverpool, England
Occupationpoet

Oliver Goldsmith (1794–1861) was a Canadian poet born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. In 1822 he wrote some verses for an amateur theatre in Halifax.[1] He is best known for The Rising Village, which appeared in 1825. It was at once the first book-length poem published by a native English-Canadian and the first book-length publication in England by a Canadian poet.[2] Furthermore, his Autobiography is the first autobiography of a native Canadian writer.[3] He is not to be confused with his great-uncle Oliver Goldsmith, to whose celebrated poem The Deserted Village The Rising Village is a response.

In 1944 his name was added by the Canadian Government to its list of Persons of National Historic Significance.[4]

  1. ^ Michael Gnarowski. "GOLDSMITH, OLIVER".
  2. ^ Gerald Lynch, Introduction to The Rising Village, Canadian Poetry Press, UWO, Web, Apr. 13, 2011.
  3. ^ Lorne Pierce's Foreword to The Autobiography of Oliver Goldsmith, ed. Wilfrid E. Myatt (Toronto: Ryerson, 1943)
  4. ^ "Oliver Goldsmith - National Historic Person". Waymarking.com. Retrieved April 13, 2011.