James Reaney

“The Windyard” by James Reaney

January 5th, 2016

Front entrance to James Reaney’s birthplace and childhood home near Stratford, Ontario, February 1954. Photo by Elizabeth Cooke (née Crerar)

The Windyard

I built a windyard for the wind;
The wind like a wild vast dog came up
To play with the weathervanes and corners
My keyholes and my chinks.

And for the sea I built a well;
The brookish tomcat gurgled in,
Waterfell and sprung about
Hunting throats and boots.

I stood a house up for the earth;
The mappy girl came in
With rut and footstep path
That wind the traveler up.

A stove I hammered for the sun;
In flew the golden oriole
To crackle the sticks of time
And sing the loaves of space.

Come girl well yard and stove,
Come Flesh Heart Mind and Lyre,
Come Earth Water Wind and Fire.
Well, when they came
Barking, meowing, talking and caroling,
I stepped above both house and yard
Into myself.

James Reaney, 1956

“The Windyard” is from The Essential James Reaney and available from The Porcupine’s Quill. The poem also appears in Poems by James Reaney, New Press, 1972.

James Reaney’s emblem poems:

In his recent book The Emblems of James Reaney, Thomas Gerry notes the connection between “The Windyard” and a later emblem poem “Windlady” from 1970:

“Windlady” by James Reaney. First published in Armadillo 2 1970.

“‘Windlady’ magnetically attracts two in particular of Reaney’s other works: the 1956 poem ‘Windyard’ and the play Listen to the Wind, first performed in 1966.” − Thomas Gerry in The Emblems of James Reaney, page 130, The Porcupine’s Quill, 2013.

“Hark! Who knocks at our door so late?” Watercolour sketch by James Reaney, undated. (Possibly from 2001 and perhaps based on a childhood drawing or an illustration for a story. The old house, the tree, and the windmill are like the farmhouse near Stratford where James Reaney grew up.)
Alice Through the Looking-Glass in Winnipeg November 25 to December 19

November 9th, 2015

James Reaney’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass opens at the Manitoba Theatre Centre at the John Hirsch Mainstage this month on November 25 to December 19.

Alice Through the Looking-Glass at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, November 25 to December 19, 2015

Originally directed by Jillian Keiley, this production was a hit at last summer’s Stratford Festival and has now played in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre and in Charlottetown at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Christine Brubaker is the director of the Manitoba Theatre Centre’s production. After Winnipeg, Alice’s next stop is the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, February 27 to March 20, 2016.

To purchase tickets, call 1-877-446-4500 (204-942-6537) or order online here.

♦ Not to be missed! Special “Monday Mix” pre-show chat on December 7

♦ “Talkback” post-show Q&A on December 1, 8, 15, and 16

♥ What reviewers are saying: “Manitoba actors and brilliant visuals make it a must to visit Alice!” — Randall King in The Winnipeg Free Press

♥ Gwendolyn Collins on playing Alice: “I think Alice has rubbed off on me a little.“ — The Winnipeg Free Press

Gwendolyn Collins as Alice, Tristan Carlucci as Tweedledum, and Aaron Pridham as Tweedledee in Alice Through the Looking-Glass. (Photo courtesy Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre)

Sunday September 26, 2015 in Winnipeg: Special guests play chess with Alice (Gwendolyn Collins) down at The Forks (Culture Days 2015).

Alice Through the Looking-Glass costume designs by Bretta Gerecke, courtesy Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

November 3, 2015: The cast of Alice Through the Looking-Glass, courtesy Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass: adapted for the stage by James Reaney is available from the Porcupine’s Quill.
The 2015 James Reaney Memorial Lecture with Thomas Gerry

October 26th, 2015

Thank you all for coming to the Stratford Public Library on Sunday October 18 to hear Thomas Gerry speak on “Theatrical Features of James Reaney’s Emblem Poems”. Professor Gerry focused in particular on the metaphor of perspective in James Reaney’s “Egypt” emblem poem.

“When we were taught [as children] to draw railway tracks as meeting at a point, our world views shrank and were subjected to artificial limits. This analysis of perspective explains for readers of Reaney’s emblems a good deal about the emblems’ style. They require their readers to ‘make a visionary correction’, and to see the world, in Blake‘s word, as ‘infinite’. — Thomas Gerry in The Emblems of James Reaney, page 73.

“Egypt” by James Reaney. First published in Poetry (Chicago) 115.3, December 1969.

Professor Gerry explained the tradition of the emblem poem in literature and its use of allegorical meaning to rouse the faculties. He also compared the pyramid structure from “Egypt” to the “family tree pyramid” poem that appears in James Reaney’s play Colours in the Dark:

It takes
Two parents
Four Grandparents
Eight Great grandparents
Sixteen Great great grandparents
Thirty-two Great great great grandparents
Sixty-four Great great great great grandparents
One hundred and twenty-eight Great great great great great grandparents
Two hundred and fifty-six Great great great great great great grandparents
Five hundred and twelve Great great great great great great great grandparents
One thousand and twenty-four Great great great great great great great great grandparents

He then led us in performing the poem and explained how “the pyramid shape recurs as an emblematic feature of the play” (The Emblems of James Reaney, page 84).

October 18, 2015, Stratford Public Library Auditorium

Thank you, Thomas Gerry, for your spirited lecture, and thank you also to the staff of the Stratford Public Library — Sally Hengeveld, Julia Merritt, Krista Robinson, and Robyn Godfrey — for your support of this event.

October 18, 2015 — Susan Reaney, Susan Wallace, Thomas Gerry, and James Stewart Reaney (Photo by Elizabeth Reaney)

Next year’s speaker will be John Beckwith, composer, who collaborated with James Reaney on many musical works. The annual lecture is a project developed by The Stratford Public Library and Poetry Stratford, and features a talk by a person who is knowledgeable about the life and work of Stratford poet and playwright James Reaney and of writing in the Southwestern Ontario region, which is such a strong element in Reaney’s writing.

Here are photographs from our happy afternoon near Stratford, courtesy Elizabeth Reaney:
Thomas Gerry on The Emblems of James Reaney — October 18 in Stratford

October 1st, 2015

The Emblems of James Reaney by Thomas Gerry (2013). Published by The Porcupine’s Quill.

Join us on Sunday, October 18 at 2:30 pm at The Stratford Public Library Auditorium in Stratford, Ontario, for a talk by Thomas Gerry on his new book The Emblems of James Reaney.

Former doctoral student of James Reaney’s and now professor of literature at Laurentian University, Thomas Gerry explores the history of the literary emblem, and explains the meanings behind ten of James Reaney’s emblem poems.

“The Tree” and “The Riddle” are two of Reaney’s emblem poems featured in The Emblems of James Reaney:

“The Riddle” by James Reaney. First published in Armadillo 2 1970.

“The Tree” by James Reaney. First published in Poetry (Chicago) 115.3, December 1969.

The Stratford Public Library is located at

19 St. Andrew Street,

Stratford, Ontario

N5A 1A2.

The Emblems of James Reaney is available from The Porcupine’s Quill.

The annual lecture is a project developed by The Stratford Public Library and Poetry Stratford, and features a talk by a person who is knowledgeable about the life and work of Stratford poet and playwright James Reaney and of writing in the Southwestern Ontario region, which is such a strong element in Reaney’s writing.
Composer John Beckwith’s music at the Canadian Music Centre

September 16th, 2015

Composer John Beckwith (Photo courtesy the Canadian Music Centre)

James Reaney was fortunate to have composer John Beckwith set many of his poems to music: The Great Lakes Suite, A Message to Winnipeg, and Twelve Letters to a Small Town. Beckwith and Reaney also collaborated on longer operas Night-blooming Cereus, The Shivaree, and Crazy to Kill.

To listen to original recordings of Beckwith-Reaney works, visit the Canadian Music Centre‘s Composer Showcase.

James Reaney and John Beckwith, Summer 2003, in London, Ontario. Photo by Colleen Reaney

Note from Susan Reaney: In his new memoir, Unheard Of: Memoirs of a Canadian Composer , John Beckwith recalls his career as a composer, including his collaborations with James Reaney. The book is available from Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
Goodbye to the Farm

August 26th, 2015

August 2010 — James Reaney’s birthplace and childhood home near Stratford, Ontario.

August 15, 2015 — a sad day — we learned that the old farmhouse where James Reaney was born has been torn down. Our thanks to Laura Cudworth of The Stratford Beacon Herald for covering the story: http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/2015/08/22/the-childhood-home-of-renowned-south-easthope-author-james-reaney-has-been-torn-down

Fondly remembered by the Reaney, Cooke, and Chamberlin Franken families, here are photos of the farm as it was. If you remember the farm and have a photo to share, please get in touch.

Summer 1937 — The Reaney farmhouse and the old barnyard. The original barn was built in 1869, and the house was built in 1875.

James Reaney (far right) with his cousins, Elsie, Kathleen, and Mary, Summer 1930 near Stratford, Ontario.

James Reaney feeding the chickens (age 5) with his cousins Mary and Elsie (1931)

James Reaney in the garden at the farm, July 1985. (Photo by Wilma McCaig)
Jillian Keiley’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass moves across Canada

July 8th, 2015

Alice Through the Looking-Glass director Jillian Keiley with actors playing Alice across Canada: Gwendolyn Collins (Winnipeg’s Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), Ellie Heath (Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre), Trish Lindström (the Stratford Festival) and, seated, Natasha Greenblatt (NAC and Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts). Photographed in the Palm Room of Spadina House, Toronto, June 2015.

June 25, 2015 — Now playing in Charlottetown at the Confederation Centre of the Arts, James Reaney’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass will open in Winnipeg later this fall and in Edmonton next February. Director Jillian Keiley plans to have local performers for each production to bring last summer’s Stratford Festival hit to new cities.

In other news, Jillian Keiley will continue in her role as Artistic Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre English Theatre; her contract has been extended for another four years. Congratulations, Jillian!

In Charlottetown, you can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-565-0278 (902-566-1267) or order online here.

♦ We also hear good things about Evangeline, a new musical play at the Charlottetown Festival, and you won’t want to miss Anne of Green Gables.

♦ What reviewers are saying: “Alice Through the Looking-Glass” will leave you in awe.“ — Lennie MacPherson in The Guardian

“… Surprises in every scene and you just have to see it for yourself.” — Cindy Lapeña in Opening Night Reviews PEI

June 26, 2015 — The Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, PEI
Alice Through the Looking-Glass in Charlottetown: June 24 to August 29

June 17th, 2015

This summer the Charlottetown Festival will present James Reaney’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass at the Homburg Theatre at the Confederation Centre for the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Alice Through the Looking-Glass at the Charlottetown Festival, June 24-August 29

This production of Alice is the Atlantic Canada premiere of last summer’s Stratford Festival hit. How fitting that Alice would journey to PEI — the home of Anne of Green Gables! Long ago Mark Twain called Anne Shirley “the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice.”

To purchase tickets, call 1-800-565-0278 (902-566-1267) or order online here.

Trish Lindstrom as Alice in Alice Through the Looking-Glass, May 2014 at the Stratford Festival. Photo by Cylia Von Tiedemann.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass: adapted for the stage by James Reaney is available from the Porcupine’s Quill.
Southern Ontario Gothic and James Reaney

June 12th, 2015

June 4, 2015 — Southern Ontario Gothic was the topic of discussion on TV Ontario’s “Agenda” tonight. Panelists Jane Urqhart, Monika Lee, Michael Hurley, and Shani Mootoo recommend these titles for your Gothic fiction fix:

♦ Jane Urqhart: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
♦ Monika Lee: The Donnellys by James Reaney
♦ Michael Hurley: Perpetual Motion by Graeme Gibson
♦ Shani Mootoo: All the Broken Things by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer

“James Reaney is one of our best Gothic writers from Southern Ontario, and he is one of the most influential. He’s had a huge impact on a lot of writers who are more famous than he is, like Alice Munro and Margret Atwood,” says Monika Lee, Professor of English Literature at Brescia College.

June 4, 2015 — Monika Lee champions James Reaney’s The Donnellys as a true Southern Ontario Gothic work. TV Ontario: http://tvo.org/programs/the-agenda-with-steve-paikin/southern-ontario-gothic

More about Southern Ontario Gothic:

“James Reaney’s plays — Colours in the Dark (1969), Baldoon (1976), and The Donnellys (1974-7) — as well as his short stories “The Bully” and “The Box Social” (reprinted in The Box Social and Other Stories in 1996), also assume Gothic elements of the macabre rooted in nightmarish families and uncanny action. […]

What makes this locale so prone to Gothic tales is the failure of communication between family members or social groups. In the absence of communication, strange projections and psychological grotesqueries spring up and rapidly grow to unmanageable proportions. Malevolent fantasies are the source and sustenance of the Gothic tradition.”
— Michael Hurley and Allan Hepburn in The Concise Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, pages 593-594. William Toye, Ed., Oxford University Press, 2011.

Watch the video here: >>> https://www.tvo.org/video/southern-ontario-gothic

See also “James Reaney on writing about the Donnellys”: https://jamesreaney.com/2019/01/04/james-reaney-on-writing-about-the-donnellys/
James Reaney’s “Brush Strokes Decorating a Fan”

January 4th, 2015

In celebration of Brick Books 40th anniversary, here is one of the 26 stanzas from James Reaney’s poem “Brush Strokes Decorating a Fan”.

(u)
A Useful List:
Hermes
Hera
Apollo
Zeus
Venus
Vulcan
Mars
Athena
Vesta
Hades
Poseidon
Ceres.
Useful for what?

Well, I don’t quite know yet,
But I swear that as an infant,
Born near the Little Lakes,
I met them.
Every morning in our house,
Vesta used to light the stove

James Reaney, 2005

James Reaney at home, age 1 1/2 years, January 1928.

“Brush Strokes Decorating a Fan” is from James Reaney’s book of poems Souwesto Home (2005), available from Brick Books. For more about the poem, see Celebration of Poetry: Week 1 James Reaney.

Ten of the stanzas from “Brush Strokes Decorating a Fan” (including “(u) A Useful List”) were set to music by Oliver Whitehead and Stephen Holowitz and performed by the Antler River Project in 2008.

Souwesto Home by James Reaney, 2005, Brick Books.