Home · Arts & Entertainment · Poetry · Al Purdy, An Uncommon Poet
Topic spans: 1967 - 2004
Al Purdy, An Uncommon Poet
During the first forty-odd years of his life, Al Purdy wrote a lot of bad poetry. Where others would have quit, Purdy persevered until he found his own distinctive voice. And what he said startled people. His unconventional works poeticized barroom brawls, hockey players and homemade beer. Al Purdy's work forced Canadians to re-evaluate their understanding of poetry and themselves. CBC Archives looks back on the long career of one of Canada's most beloved poets.
Photograph courtesy of D'Arcy Glionna.
4 television clips
9 radio clips
Remembering Al
Broadcast Date: April 25, 2000
At the age of 81, Al Purdy succumbs to cancer on April 21, 2000, in Sidney, B.C. Canadians remember Purdy as an eloquent trailblazer who wrote accessible and exciting poetry. Friends and contemporaries praise him as an exceedingly generous mentor. Before Purdy's death, CBC's Rex Murphy visited with the poet and his friends. They discussed his long career and enduring legacy. "It's been a very rewarding life to me," Purdy says in this documentary, "I can't imagine any other life I'd like to live."Remembering Al
• In March 2000, the League of Canadian Poets presented Purdy with the Voice of the Land Lifetime Achievement Award and a $10,000 prize. The award was established to recognize Purdy's contribution to Canada. The award will be presented every five years with a cash prize of $5,000.• Over the course of his career, Purdy published a total of 33 books of poetry, one novel, an autobiography and nine collections of essays and letters.
• Al Purdy's ashes were buried in Ameliasburg, Ont., at the end of Purdy Lane. His gravestone is shaped like a book and features a quatrain from his poem Her Gates Both East and West:
This is where I came to
when my body left its body
and my spirit stayed
in its spirit home.
•"All of us — Peggy Atwood, Dennis Lee — would acknowledge Al's influence. His poetry told me I could write about the trees and the animals and the loggers and the workers, that poetry came out of the ordinary. His was really a voice of the common man and the common woman." — poet Patrick Lane in Calgary Herald, April 29, 2000
• Purdy also had his share of critics who argued that he had a negative impact on the development of Canadian literature. For example, author David Solway wrote, "From the early 70s on, owing to Purdy's gathering influence, Canadian poetry began to sound and look increasingly generic, as if despite whatever differences in specific content might be found in the work of individual poets, the writing were being done by consortium." — in the National Post, June 23, 2001
Remembering Al
Medium: Television
Program: The National Magazine
Broadcast Date: April 25, 2000
Guest(s): Margaret Atwood, Patrick Lane, Dennis Lee, Al Purdy
Host: Brian Stewart
Reporter: Rex Murphy
Duration: 15:02
Photograph courtesy of D'Arcy Glionna.
Last updated:
March 22, 2005
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13 clips in this topic . page
Radio
5:35
Feb. 4, 1958
On his 75th birthday, famed narrative poet E.J. Pratt chuckles at being called Canada's leading poet.
Television
2:26
In 2009, a young hip-hop star becomes the poet laureate for the City of Edmonton.
Topic from Radio-Canada
For Teachers - Educational activities
- All GradesOne Idea About Al Purdy
- 11-12Language in Poetry
- 9-10Writing Poetry
- 11-12Al Purdy's Place in Canadian Literature
Remembering Al.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: March 22, 2005.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]