Francis Reginald Scott (August 1, 1899 – January 30, 1985), commonly known as Frank Scott or F. R. Scott, was a lawyer, Canadian poet, intellectual, and constitutional scholar. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and its successor, the New Democratic Party. He won Canada's top literary prize, the Governor General's Award, twice, once for poetry and once for non-fiction. He was married to artist Marian Dale Scott.
Life and work
Scott was born on August 1, 1899, in Quebec City, the sixth of seven children. His father was Frederick George Scott, "an Anglican priest, minor poet and staunch advocate of the civilizing tradition of imperial Britain, who instilled in his son a commitment to serve mankind, a love for the regenerative balance of the Laurentian landscape and a firm respect for the social order." He witnessed the riots in the city during the Conscription Crisis of 1917.
Completing his undergraduate studies at Bishop's University, in Lennoxville, Quebec, Scott went to Magdalen College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar and was influenced by the Christian socialist ideas of R. H. Tawney and the Student Christian Movement.
Scott returned to Canada, settled in Montreal, studied law at McGill University, and eventually joined the law faculty as a professor. While at McGill, Scott became a member of the Montreal Group of modernist poets, a circle that also included Leon Edel, John Glassco, and A. J. M. Smith.
Scott and Smith became lifelong friends.
thumb|[[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation delegation attending the September 1944 Conference of Commonwealth Labour Parties in London, England. Pictured from Left to right: Clarie Gillis, MP for Cape Breton South; David Lewis, National Secretary; M. J. Coldwell, National Leader, MP for Rosetown—Biggar; Percy E. Wright, MP for Melfort; and Frank Scott, National Chairman.]]
The Great Depression greatly disturbed Scott; he founded the League for Social Reconstruction (LSR) with the historian Frank Underhill to advocate socialist solutions in a Canadian context. Through the LSR, Scott became an influential figure in the Canadian socialist movement. He was a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and a contributor to that party's Regina Manifesto. He also edited a book advocating Social Planning for Canada (1935).
In 1950–1951, Scott cofounded Recherches sociales, a study group concerned with French–English relations. He began translating French-Canadian poetry.
The Royal Society of Canada elected Scott a fellow in 1947 and awarded him its Lorne Pierce Medal in 1962.
Leonard Cohen added music to Scott's villanelle, "A Villanelle for Our Time," and recorded it on his album Dear Heather.
Scott is the subject of a number of critical works, as well as a major biography, The Politics of the Imagination: A Life of F. R. Scott by Sandra Djwa.
Publications
Poetry
- Overture. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1945.
- Events and Signals. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1954.
- The Eye of the Needle: Satire, Sorties, Sundries. Montreal: Contact Press, 1957.
- Signature. Vancouver: Klanak Press, 1964.
- Selected Poems. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1966.
- Trouvailles: Poems from Prose. Montreal: Delta Canada, 1967.
- The Dance Is One. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1973.
- The Collected Poems of F. R. Scott. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1981.
Translations
- St-Denys Garneau & Anne Hebert: Translations/Traductions. Translated by F. R. Scott. Vancouver: Klanak Press, 1962.
- Poems of French Canada. Translated by F. R. Scott. Burnaby, BC: Blackfish Press, 1977.
<small>Except where indicated, bibliographical information on poetry courtesy of Canadian Poetry Online.</small>
Non-fiction
- Social Reconstruction and the B.N.A. Act – 1934
- Labour Conditions in the Men's Clothing Industry – 1935 (with H. M. Cassidy)
- Social Planning for Canada – 1935.