Edwin John Pratt

The collection contains manuscripts and published works by E.J. Pratt, as well as notebooks, drafts of poems, lecture notes, correspondence, critical works and theses, photographs and memorabilia. Also contains personal material including degrees, medals, artwork, and programs and invitations for various events.

Canadian poet and Professor of English at Victoria University, Pratt was a founder and the first editor (1936–1943) of the Canadian Poetry Magazine, on the Editorial Board, Saturday Night, member of the Canadian Authors’ Association and the Arts and Letters Club. He won the Governor-General’s medal for The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems (1937), Brébeuf and His Brethren (1940), and Towards the Last Spike (1952). The poet was also awarded the Lorne Pierce Gold Medal for distinguished services to Canadian literature; the Canada Council medal for distinction in literature (1961), and many more.

There are two ways to access parts of the collection:

Guide to the E.J. Pratt Papers:
A detailed finding aid to the papers in the collection. The finding aid has six series. For material relating to Viola Whitney Pratt, see the Viola Whitney Pratt Fonds. For material relating to Claire Pratt, see the Claire Pratt Fonds.

University of Toronto Catalogue:
For catalogued items in the E.J. Pratt and general collections at Victoria University Library, as well as the E.J. Pratt Pamphlet Collection.

Edwin John Dove Pratt (1882–1964) was an academic and a poet. He was born in Western Bay, Newfoundland, the son of Reverend John Pratt and Fanny Pitts Knight. He married Viola Leone Whitney on August 20, 1918 and they had a daughter, Mildred Claire, born on March 18, 1921. He died in Toronto, Ontario on April 26, 1964.

Pratt was educated at St. John’s Methodist College (1888–1901) with a three-year interruption. He received a B.A. in 1911 at Victoria College, University of Toronto, a M.A. at the University of Toronto, and a B.D. at Victoria University, both in 1913. He was ordained as a minister in 1913, and received a Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in 1917.

E.J. Pratt’s records were acquired E.J. Pratt, Viola Whitney Pratt, Claire Pratt, the Provincial Archives of British Columbia, Margaret (Peggy) Brown, Concordia University, and from other unknown sources. 

The Viola Leone Whitney Pratt fonds was originally a unique collection that was then transferred into the Edwin John Pratt fonds. In 2016, it was subsequently moved back into its own separate collection.

Some pamphlets were originally acquired separate of the E.J. Pratt fonds, but were transferred to the collection based on their relation to E.J. Pratt. They were also catalogued in the University of Toronto catalogue as part of the E.J. Pratt Special Collections, where this pamphlet collection is updated. In 2017, the entire pamphlet collection was transferred out of the archives and became part of E.J. Pratt Special Collections, forming the pamphlet collection. Series 7 of this fonds lists pamphlets collected and added to the E.J. Pratt fonds but are located in the Pamphlet Collection. For a complete list of pamphlets in, as well as access to, this collection, refer to the University of Toronto Catalogue for location information.

E.J. Pratt's annotated copy of French's Acting Edition of Journey's End by R.C. Sherriff was donated by Margaret Rodgers.

Since its acquisition by the archives, the E.J. Pratt fonds has been revised in 1981, 2006, 2016, 2018 and 2022. The current finding aid is the most recent revision of the collection.