Alma Frances McCollum
BornAlma Frances McCollum
(1879-12-07)7 December 1879
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
Died21 March 1906(1906-03-21) (aged 26)
Toronto, Canada
OccupationPoet, composer

Alma Frances McCollum (7 December 1879, near Chatham, Ontario – 21 March 1906, Toronto)[1] was a Canadian poet and composer. She is best known for her collection of poems Flower Legends and Other Poems (1902).[2]

Early life and education

Alma Frances McCollum was born on 7 December 1879, in a village near Chatham, Ontario to Edward Lee Collum (1826 – 1887) and Mary Ann Sharpe (1833 – 1919).[1][3] She was the youngest daughter of six in her family. Her parents both were born and brought up in Ireland. Her father, Edward Lee Collum, died when McCollum was still a child, and the family moved to Peterborough, Ontario, where they lived till 1905 before moving to Toronto.[4]

McCollum graduated from the Collegiate Institute at Peterborough and studied at the Toronto Presbyterian Ladies College, as well as in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1]

Career

McCollum early started making rhymes and wrote most of the poems in her teen years.[5] A collection of her poems named Flower Legends and Other Poems was published in 1902.[2] The cover design of the book was sketched by McCollum herself.[5] The book was positively accepted by the Toronto literary community, namely Ethelwyn Wetherald, Jean Blewett, and J. W. Galvin.[1]

Having moved to Toronto she received musical training at the School of Expression in the Toronto Conservatory of Music and wrote plays for children.[1] She also took lectures in English Literature at University College, but after brief attendance she had to discontinue her studies due to health problems.[5]

Death and legacy

McCollum was diagnosed with incipient appendicitis, and during the operation on 21 March 1906 she died at the age of 26.[5]

Her book Flower Legends and Other Stories (1902) and its reprints can be found in libraries throughout the world, including The British Library,[6] McGrill University Library,[7] Plymouth State University Library[8] and others.

Her poems are also anthologized in following collections: Campbell, Oxford Book of Canadian Verse (1913); Caswell, Canadian Singers and Their Songs (1925); Garvin, Canadian Poets (1916); Garvin, Canadian Verse for Boys and Girls (1930); Whyte-Edgar, Wreath of Canadian Song (1910).[1]

Bibliography

Books

  • Flower Legends and Other Poems (1902).[9]

List of selected poems

  • Why Blossoms Fall[10]
  • Love
  • A Song of the Forest
  • The Angel of the Sombre Cowl
  • The Silent Singer
  • Little Nellie’s Pa
  • Forest Sounds
  • The Angel’s Kiss
  • Where Sings the Whippoorwill

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "McCollum, Alma Frances". SFU Digitized Collections. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  2. 1 2 McCollum, Alma Frances (1902). Flower legends and other poems. Robarts - University of Toronto. Toronto W. Briggs.
  3. ↑ Canada’s Early Women Writers. Alma Frances McCollum. Canada’s Early Women Writers, 18 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Garvin, John William (1916). Canadian Poets and Poetry. Frederick A. Stokes Company. p. 290.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Alma Frances McCollum". digital.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  6. ↑ "Explore the British Library". explore.bl.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  7. ↑ "Search results for McGill University Library". mcgill.on.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  8. ↑ "Item Details Page for Flower legends and other poems". plymouth.on.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  9. ↑ McCollum, Alma Frances (1902). Flower legends and other poems. Robarts - University of Toronto. Toronto W. Briggs.
  10. ↑ "Alma Frances McCollum poem > Why Blossoms Fall on Poemine.com". www.poemine.com. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
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