23 Facts About Bliss Carman

William Bliss Carman was a Canadian poet who lived most of his life in the United States, where he achieved international fame.

Bliss Carman was acclaimed as Canada's poet laureate during his later years.

Bliss Carman remained a poet, supplementing his art with critical commentaries on literary ideas, philosophy, and aesthetics.

William Bliss Carman was born on April 15,1861, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Bliss Carman was the great grandson of United Empire Loyalists who fled to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution, settling in New Brunswick.

Bliss Carman's literary roots run deep with an ancestry that includes a mother who was a descendant of Daniel Bliss of Concord, Massachusetts, the great-uncle of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Bliss Carman was first educated through a private tutor until 1872 due to medical issues stemmed from a severe nose injury he received at the age of four.

Bliss Carman was later educated at the University of New Brunswick, from which he received a bachelor's degree in 1881.

Bliss Carman's first published poem was in the UNB Monthly in 1879.

Bliss Carman then spent a year at Oxford and the University of Edinburgh, but returned home to receive his master's degree from UNB in 1884.

The next year, though, the editor's job went West to Chicago, while Bliss Carman opted to remain in Boston.

Bliss Carman published two more books of verse with Lamson, Wolffe.

In 1896 Bliss Carman met Mary Perry King, who became the greatest and longest-lasting female influence in his life.

When Small, Maynard failed in 1903, Bliss Carman lost all his assets.

Bliss Carman picked up some needed cash in 1904 as editor-in-chief of the 10-volume project, The World's Best Poetry.

The tours of Canada continued, and by 1925 Bliss Carman had finally acquired a Canadian publisher.

Bliss Carman died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 68 in New Canaan, and was cremated in New Canaan.

In 1912 Bliss Carman would publish Echoes from Vagabondia as a solo work.

In keeping with the "same key" idea, Bliss Carman's Ballad of Lost Haven was a collection of poetry about the sea.

In 1906 Bliss Carman received honorary degrees from UNB and McGill University.

Bliss Carman was elected a corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1925.

Bliss Carman was awarded a medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1929.

In 1945, Bliss Carman was recognized as a Person of National Historic Significance by the government of Canada.