Raymond Knister

Colin Hill (University of Toronto)

Ed. by Wendy Roy, University of Saskatchewan
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.1.2: Canadian Writing and Culture (Anglophone): The Twentieth Century and beyond, 1900-present.
Vol. editors: Sarah Henzi (Simon Fraser University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Glen Nichols (Mount Allison University), Wendy Roy (University of Saskatchewan), Denis Salter (McGill University), Karis Shearer (University of British Columbia)

Dates

Born 27 May 1899
Died 29 Aug 1932
Activity 1919-1932

Places

Born in Canada
Active in Canada

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Poet
Story-writer

Resources

Knister's Works

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Raymond Knister was a leading writer of experimental Canadian fiction and poetry in the 1920s. Despite his pioneering role as modernist and modern realist, Knister’s work has never received the attention that it merits, and his literary reputation has yet to be firmly established. While most of the criticism of his work focuses upon his collected poetry and his first published novel,

White Narcissus

(1929), he was remarkably versatile and prolific. In his decade-long career, he produced about one hundred poems, nearly as many short stories and sketches, four novels, and dozens of critical works, including essays, book reviews, editorials, and a landmark anthology of Canadian short fiction.

Knister was born to farming parents in Ruthven, near Windsor, Ontario, Canada, in 1899. His

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1119 words

Citation: Hill, Colin. "Raymond Knister". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 July 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2542, accessed 24 November 2024.]