Poetical Works of Alexander McLachlan

Alexander McLachlan in an eminent though neglected figure in early Canadian literature, and this reprint brings to the attention of Canadians today his representative work. Edward Hartley Dewart, editor of the original edition published in1900, recognized the importance of McLachlan’s poetry as an integral part of Canada’s cultural development. In his estimation McLachlan ranked second only to Charles Sangster.McLachlan, a Scot, emigrated to Canada West in 1840; his poetry reflects graphically the griefs and loneliness of pioneer struggles in an alien land. He was frequently called ‘the Burns of Canada,’ and his style and emphasis on the democratic theme of brotherhood certainly reveal the influence of the Scottish poet. In lifestyle, however, McLachlan was more consciously Carlylean, assuming the role of ‘man of letters’ in an effort to elevate the whole tone of man’s thinking and to raise the cultural level of Canada. He was highly regarded – in its obituary notice the Guelph Evening Mercury discerned him ‘a true streak of poetic fire.’ Many of McLachlan’s early poems have nostalgic echoes of Scottish songs. In later years he responded fully to the bracing beauties of the Canadian landscape and to the social and political challenges of the ‘New Dominion.’ The Scottish dialect gave way to a Canadian backwoods one, which proved effective in humorously satirizing the pretensions of the growing society.