Distinguished poet remembered

TORONTO, ON—A poet once lauded as a “national treasure” has died at the age of 89. Margaret Avison, author of several collections including Winter Sun, No Time and Concrete and Wild Carrot, passed away July 31 after a brief illness.

Avison’s many honours include the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize in 2003, two Governor General’s Literary Awards for poetry and the 2005 Leslie K. Tarr Award for her outstanding contribution to Christian writing and publishing in Canada. She was also an officer of the Order of Canada.

A devout Christian, Avison told ChristianWeek in 2003 that it was in January 1963 that a personal epiphany changed her life, and her writing, forever. Shortly after the publication of her first collection of poems, she read John 14:1, “Do no let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

It was then she sensed a presence in the room.

“Art was my idolatry,” she said. “I had begun to die in spirit. I knew my world had been getting greyer.” But she feared God would require her to sacrifice her beloved poetry. Finally, she said, she threw her Bible across the room and declared, “Take all the poetry. It’s alright.”

Stepping outside, the world seemed to come alive with colours and perfumes she had not noticed since she was a child. The next day she wrote a poem about the parable of the seeds. “It just flowed out of me. He didn’t take the poetry away, but I had to offer it,” she said.

From that time on, faith defined both Avison’s life and her work, including her 1966 collection, The Dumbfounding.

(With files from The Globe and Mail, The National Post and Sue Careless)