F. R. Scott

{{Short description|Canadian legal scholar and poet (1899–1985)}} {{Redirect|F. Scott|the American author|F. Scott Fitzgerald}} {{Infobox person | name = F. R. Scott | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CC|QC|FRSC|FBA|size=100%}} | image =  | landscape =  | alt =  | caption = | birth_name = Francis Reginald Scott | birth_date = {{birth date|1899|8|1}} | birth_place = {{nowrap|[[Quebec City]], [[Quebec]], Canada}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1985|1|30|1899|8|1}} | death_place = [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada | other_names = Frank Scott | political_party = {{ubl | [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] | [[New Democratic Party]]}} | spouse = {{marriage|[[Marian Dale Scott]]|1928}} | children = [[Peter Dale Scott]] | parents = [[Frederick George Scott]] | awards = {{ubl | [[Lorne Pierce Medal]] (1962) | [[Molson Prize]] (1965–1966) | [[Governor General's Awards|Governor General's Award]] (1977; 1981)}} | module = {{Infobox writer |embed=yes | language = English | period = | genre = Poetry | subject =  | movement = [[Montreal Group]] | notable_works = ''Collected Poems of F. R. Scott'' (1981) }} | module2 = {{Infobox academic |child=yes | alma_mater = {{ubl | [[Bishop's University]] | [[Magdalen College, Oxford]] | [[McGill University]]}} | thesis_title = | thesis_year = | school_tradition = [[Christian socialism]] | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = | influences = {{hlist | [[H. A. Smith]] | [[R. H. Tawney]]}} | discipline = {{hlist | [[Law]] | [[political science]]}} | sub_discipline = [[Constitutional law]] | workplaces = [[McGill University]] | doctoral_students =  | notable_students = {{flatlist| * {{ill|Francisco Cuevas Cancino|es|v=ib}} * [[Layton Fergusson]] * {{ill|Ismail Suny|id|v=ib}} }} | main_interests = | notable_works = ''Essays on the Constitution'' (1977) | notable_ideas = | influenced =  }} | signature = | signature_alt = }} '''Francis Reginald Scott''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CC|QC|FRSC|FBA}} (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 democracy|social democratic]] party, the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]], and its successor, the [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|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."<ref name=richardson>Keith Richardson, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20040518095414/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007227 Scott, Francis Reginald (Frank)]," ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 1961.</ref> He witnessed the riots in the city during the [[Conscription Crisis of 1917]].

Completing his undergraduate studies at [[Bishop's University]], in [[Lennoxville, Quebec|Lennoxville]], [[Quebec]], Scott went to [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], as a [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholar]] and was influenced by the [[Christian socialism|Christian socialist]] ideas of [[R. H. Tawney]] and the [[World Student Christian Federation|Student Christian Movement]].

Scott returned to Canada, settled in Montreal, studied law at [[McGill University]], and eventually joined the [[McGill University Faculty of Law|law faculty]] as a professor. While at McGill, Scott became a member of the [[Montreal Group]] of [[modernist poetry|modernist poets]], a circle that also included [[Leon Edel]], [[John Glassco]], and [[A. J. M. Smith]].<ref name="irvine">Dean Irvine, "[http://www.answers.com/topic/montreal-group Montreal Group]," ''Oxford Companion to Canadian History''. Answers.com, Web, March 25, 2011.</ref> Scott and Smith became lifelong friends.<ref name=richardson/> Scott contributed to the ''McGill Daily Literary Supplement'', which Smith edited; when that folded in 1925, he and Smith founded and edited the ''McGill Fortnightly Review''. After the ''Review'' folded, Scott helped found and briefly co-edited ''The Canadian Mercury''.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Scott, assisted by Smith and [[Leo Kennedy]], also anonymously edited the modernist poetry anthology ''[[New Provinces (poetry anthology)|New Provinces]]'' (in which he published ten poems), which was published in 1936.<ref>Michael Gnarowski, "[http://www.encyclopediecanadienne.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005706 New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]," ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Hurtig: Edmonton, 1988), 1479.</ref>

[[Image:Claire Gillis, David Lewis, M.J.Coldwell c007253.jpg|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 (federal electoral district)|Cape Breton South]]; [[David Lewis (Canadian politician)|David Lewis]], National Secretary; [[Major James Coldwell|M. J. Coldwell]], National Leader, MP for [[Rosetown—Biggar (federal electoral district)|Rosetown—Biggar]]; Percy E. Wright, MP for [[Melfort (electoral district)|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 [[Socialism in Canada|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).<ref name=richardson/> In 1943, he co-authored ''Make This Your Canada'', which spelled out the CCF national programme, with [[David Lewis (Canadian politician)|David Lewis]]. Scott was elected national chairman of the CCF in 1942, and would serve until 1950.<ref name=richardson/>

In March 1942 Scott co-founded a literary magazine, ''Preview'', with the Montreal poet [[Patrick Anderson (poet)|Patrick Anderson]]. Like the earlier Montreal Group publications, "''Preview''{{'s}} orientation was [[wikt:cosmopolitan|cosmopolitan]]; its members looked largely towards the English poets of the 1930s for inspiration."<ref name=woodcock>George Woodcock, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060511211538/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005811 Northern Review]," ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 1515.</ref>

In 1950–1951, Scott cofounded ''Recherches sociales'', a study group concerned with French–English relations. He began translating French-Canadian poetry.<ref name=richardson/>

In 1952, he served as a [[United Nations]] technical assistance resident representative in Burma to help build a socialist state in that country.<ref name=richardson/>

During the 1950s, Scott was an active opponent of the [[Maurice Duplessis]] regime in Quebec and went to court to fight the [[Padlock Law]]. He also represented Frank Roncarrelli, a [[Jehovah's Witness]], in ''[[Roncarelli v Duplessis]]'' all the way to the [[Supreme Court of Canada]], a battle that Duplessis lost.

Scott began translating French-Canadian poetry and published [[Anne Hébert]] and [[Saint-Denys Garneau]] in 1962. He edited ''Poems of French Canada'' (1977), which won the [[Canada Council]] prize for translation.

[[File:Funeral monument F.R. Scott.jpg|thumb|Scott's funeral monument in Mount Royal Cemetery]] Scott served as dean of law at [[McGill University]] from 1961 to 1964 and served on the [[Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism]]. In 1970. he was offered a seat in the [[Senate of Canada]] by [[Pierre Trudeau]]. Although he declined the appointment, he supported Trudeau's imposition of the [[War Measures Act]] during the [[October Crisis]] same year.

Scott opposed Quebec's [[Bill 22]] and [[Bill 101]], which established the province within its jurisdiction as an officially-unilingual province within an officially-bilingual country.

After his death on January 30, 1985, Scott was interred in [[Mount Royal Cemetery]], Montreal.

===Recognition=== Scott won the [[1977 Governor General's Awards|1977 Governor General's Award for non-fiction]] for his ''Essays on the Constitution'' and the [[1981 Governor General's Awards|1981 Governor General's Award for poetry]] for his ''Collected Poems''.<ref name="Canadian Poetry Online">"[http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/index.htm F.R. Scott: Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825032134/http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/index.htm |date=2014-08-25 }}," Canadian Poetry Online, University of Toronto. Web, March 21, 2011.</ref>

The [[Royal Society of Canada]] elected Scott a fellow in 1947 and awarded him its [[Lorne Pierce Medal]] in 1962.<ref name="Canadian Poetry Online"/>

Scott won the [[Molson Prize]] in 1965.<ref name="Canadian Poetry Online"/>

In 1966, Scott received an honorary doctorate from [[Sir George Williams University]], which later became [[Concordia University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.concordia.ca/scott|title=Honorary Degree Citation – Francis Reginald Scott* {{!}} Concordia University Archives|website=archives.concordia.ca|access-date=2016-03-29}}</ref>

[[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 in poetry|1945]]. *''Events and Signals''. Toronto: Ryerson Press, [[1954 in poetry|1954]]. *''The Eye of the Needle: Satire, Sorties, Sundries''. Montreal: Contact Press, [[1957 in poetry|1957]]. *''Signature''. Vancouver: Klanak Press, [[1964 in poetry|1964]]. *''Selected Poems''. Toronto: Oxford University Press, [[1966 in poetry|1966]]. *''Trouvailles: Poems from Prose''. Montreal: Delta Canada, [[1967 in poetry|1967]]. *''The Dance Is One''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, [[1973 in poetry|1973]]. *''The Collected Poems of F. R. Scott''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, [[1981 in poetry|1981]].

===Translations=== *''St-Denys Garneau & Anne Hebert: Translations/Traductions''. Translated by F. R. Scott. Vancouver: Klanak Press, [[1962 in poetry|1962]]. *''Poems of French Canada''. Translated by F. R. Scott. Burnaby, BC: Blackfish Press, [[1977 in poetry|1977]].

''Except where indicated, bibliographical information on poetry courtesy of Canadian Poetry Online.''<ref name="F.R. Scott: Publications">"[http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/pub.htm F.R. Scott: Publications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408081000/http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/pub.htm |date=2013-04-08 }}," Canadian Poetry Online, UToronto.ca, Web, May 7, 2011.</ref>

===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.<ref name=richardson/> *''Canada Today: A Study of Her National Interests and National Policy'' – 1938 *''Canada's Role in World Affairs'' – 1942 *''Make This Your Canada: A Review of C.C.F. History and Policy'' – 1943 (with [[David Lewis (Canadian politician)|David Lewis]]) *''Cooperation for What? United States and British Commonwealth'' – 1944 *''The World War Against Poverty'' – 1953 (with R. A. MacKay and A. E. Ritchie) *''What Does Labour Need in a Bill of Rights'' – 1959 *''The Canadian Constitution and Human Rights'' – 1959 *''Civil Liberties and Canadian Federalism'' – 1959 *''Dialogue sur la traduction'' – 1970 (with [[Anne Hebert]]) *''Essays on the Constitution: Aspects of Canadian Law and Politics'' – 1977 *{{cite book | first = Frank R. | last = Scott | year = 1986 | title = A New Endeavour: Selected Political Essays, Letters, and Addresses | others = Edited and introduced by [[Michiel Horn]]| publisher = University of Toronto Press | location = Toronto | isbn = 0-8020-5672-5 }}

===Edited=== *''[[New Provinces (poetry anthology)|New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors]]'' (with [[A. J. M. Smith]] and [[Leo Kennedy]]). Toronto: Macmillan, 1936. *''The Blasted Pine: An Anthology of Satire, Invective and Disrespectful Verse'' – 1957 (with [[A. J. M. Smith]])

==Discography== * ''Six Montreal Poets''. New York: Folkways Records, 1957. Includes A. J. M. Smith, Leonard Cohen, Irving Layton, F. R. Scott, Louis Dudek, and A. M. Klein. (cassette, 60 mins) *''Canadian Poets on Tape''. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 1969, 1971. (cassette, 30 mins) *''A Poetry Reading''. Toronto: League of Canadian Poets, 1982. (cassette, 60 mins) *''Celebration: Famous Canadian Poets CD'' London, Ontario: [[Canadian Poetry Association]] — 1999 {{ISBN|1-55253-022-1}} (CD#4) (with [[James Reaney]] )

''Except where noted, discographical information courtesy Canadian Poetry Online.''<ref name="F.R. Scott: Publications"/>

==See also== *[[List of Bishop's College School alumni]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Wikiquote}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070907094017/http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/faculties/HUM/ENGL/canada/poet/f_scott.htm University of Calgary biography] *[http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/poem5.htm Canadian Poetry Online: F.R. Scott] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920040111/http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/poem5.htm |date=2008-09-20 }} – 6 poems (Lakeshore, Laurentian Shield, The Canadian Authors Meet, A Grain of Rice, W.L.M.K., Resurrection) * http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/pub.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408081000/http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/pub.htm |date=2013-04-08 }} *Archives of F.R. Scott [http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=103891&lang=eng (Francis Reginald Scott fonds, R5822)] are held at [[Library and Archives Canada]]

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{{Portal bar|Biography|Canada|Poetry|Socialism}} {{Governor General's English non-fiction|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Frank}} [[Category:1899 births]] [[Category:1985 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian poets]] [[Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford]] [[Category:Anglican poets]] [[Category:Anglican socialists]] [[Category:Anglophone Quebec people]] [[Category:Bishop's University alumni]] [[Category:Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery]] [[Category:Canadian Anglicans]] [[Category:Canadian Christian socialists]] [[Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers]] [[Category:Canadian male poets]] [[Category:Canadian modernist poets]] [[Category:Bishop's College School alumni]] [[Category:Canadian King's Counsel]] [[Category:Canadian Rhodes Scholars]] [[Category:Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] [[Category:Companions of the Order of Canada]] [[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] [[Category:Corresponding fellows of the British Academy]] [[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada]] [[Category:Governor General's Award–winning non-fiction writers]] [[Category:Governor General's Award–winning poets]] [[Category:Lawyers in Quebec]] [[Category:McGill University Faculty of Law alumni]] [[Category:Academic staff of the McGill University Faculty of Law]] [[Category:Canadian scholars of constitutional law]] [[Category:Writers from Quebec City]] [[Category:Canadian satirical poets]] [[Category:Poets from Quebec]]