Francis Joseph Sherman
Francis Joseph Sherman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | June 15, 1926 (aged 55) Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, banking professional |
| Known for | Canadian poetry, sonnet series In Memorabilia Mortis dedicated to William Morris |
Francis Joseph Sherman (February 3, 1871 – June 15, 1926) was a Canadian poet and banking professional.
During the closing years of the 19th century, he released multiple poetry collections, including Matins and In Memorabilia Mortis, the latter being a sonnet series dedicated to William Morris.
Life
Francis Sherman was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to parents Alice Maxwell Myshrall and Louis Walsh Sherman. His education took place at Fredericton Collegiate School, where headmaster George R. Parkin played a significant role in nurturing his literary passions. In 1886, he enrolled at the University of New Brunswick but withdrew after one year due to financial difficulties following his father's departure. As the eldest sibling among seven children, Sherman began employment with the Merchants' Bank in 1887, first stationed in Halifax before moving back to Fredericton.
By 1895, Charles G.D. Roberts described Sherman as tall and slender with "large wistful eyes of the poet rather than the banker." With Roberts's encouragement, Sherman issued his debut poetry collection in 1896. He was engaged to May Whelpey; however, their wedding plans were canceled after she contracted infantile paralysis.
In 1898, Sherman assumed the role of manager at the Merchants' Bank branch in Fredericton, reportedly becoming the youngest individual in Canada to occupy such a post. The following year, he relocated to Montreal and soon after was appointed as the bank's inaugural agent in Havana, Cuba. There, he broadened the institution’s presence throughout Cuba and the Caribbean until the Merchants' Bank transitioned to become the Royal Bank of Canada in 1901.
Sherman’s final poetry publication appeared in 1900; he discontinued writing by 1901. Beyond his professional duties, he engaged in reading and collecting first editions, swimming, and yachting—serving as Vice-Commodore of Havana Yacht Club prior to returning to Montreal in 1912.
With the onset of World War I, Sherman left his banking career to enlist with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 1915. He advanced to captain and later major within the Royal Canadian Pay Corps. After returning from service, he resigned from the Royal Bank in 1919 due to health complications linked to his military experience.
In 1921, he married Ruth Ann Sullivan from Philadelphia; they had two sons together. Sherman passed away in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1926 and was laid to rest at Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredericton.
Matins
Sherman submitted a manuscript containing thirty poems to Copeland and Day in Boston in 1896; this publisher released his inaugural volume titled Matins, which became his consistent publishing partner. Bliss Carman regarded it as "the most notable first volume of verse of the past year," while Roberts considered it "a work of considerable significance." The Hartford Courant praised its "dignity, art, and much beauty of thought and expression," and the Boston Transcript acknowledged its "genuine literary importance." It is also reported that Rudyard Kipling commended this collection.
The poems within this volume show clear inspiration from Rossetti and early Morris, incorporating narrators who exist beyond mortal life, imaginative settings detached from space and time, Froissartian tones, alongside motifs such as love, destiny, and mortality. Roberts observed Sherman's connection with Rossetti’s vivid imagery and sensuous memory in pieces like "A Memory," "The Path," and "The Last Flower."
In Memorabilia Mortis
Also released in 1896, In Memorabilia Mortis is an elegiac tribute written two months following Morris's passing. The work comprises six sonnets noted for their technical precision. Roberts places Sherman on par with Lampman in sonnet craftsmanship, highlighting this collection along with the 1899 sonnet series The Deserted City as pivotal in establishing Sherman's literary reputation.
The elegy references Morris’s The Earthly Paradise, reinterpreting its motifs within a Canadian framework and illustrating the broad relevance of Morris's mythological vision.
A Prelude
Sherman's extended poem A Prelude, privately issued by Copeland and Day in 1897, signals a nuanced departure from the Pre-Raphaelite style. Its language is less archaic than earlier compositions, incorporating Canadian flora such as birches, maples, and pines, closely connected to New Brunswick’s environment. Roberts characterized it as "a sustained contemplative poem of nature interwoven with human interest," composed in the demanding Italian verse form, Terza Rima, which has been successfully employed in English by only a few poets including Percy Bysshe Shelley.
The Deserted City
Published privately by Copeland and Day in 1900, The Deserted City is a sequence of nineteen lyrical sonnets centered on themes of faith and love. Roberts commended it as the work of a "master sonneteer." Drawing inspiration from Dante Gabriel Rossetti's House of Life, the collection delves into the conflict between spiritual and earthly realms through the soul-body dichotomy, employing more accessible language and offering a more realistic portrayal of Canadian settings compared to Sherman’s earlier poetry.
A Canadian Calendar: XII Lyrics
Sherman's last compilation, A Canadian Calendar: XII Lyrics, privately published in Havana in 1900, captures Canadian nature across all seasons while showcasing increased metrical variety. Roberts regards this as Sherman's most sophisticated output, deeply shaped by personal loss expressed through seasonal imagery. The volume demonstrates Sherman’s adeptness at adapting Rossetti’s and Morris’s stylistic methods to Canadian themes, skillfully merging form with subject matter to reflect both changing landscapes and human emotions—evident in poems such as "A Song in August" and "Three Gray Days."
An Acadian Easter
Appearing in The Atlantic Monthly in 1900, "An Acadian Easter" is considered Sherman's most powerful composition. It recounts a tragic episode from Canadian history—the tale of Madame La Tour—rendered in emotional blank verse interspersed with lyrical segments. The dramatic monologue utilizes stanza structures reminiscent of Morris’s poetry, blending historical and personal perspectives with psychological depth comparable to the Guenevere series. This poem exemplifies Sherman’s fusion of Canadian historical narrative and landscape with Pre-Raphaelite influences, forging a uniquely Canadian poetic mythology.
Karen Herbert emphasizes Sherman's synthesis of Canadian subject matter with Morris’s narrative style and symbolism, observing his balanced indebtedness to both Morris and Rossetti alongside his dedication to cultivating an authentically Canadian voice. This interplay defines Sherman’s confident yet introspective role within early twentieth-century Canadian poetry.
Recognition
During a 1934 speech delivered to the Royal Society of Canada, Roberts emphasized the significant oversight regarding Sherman's contributions.
The publication of Sherman's Complete Poems occurred in 1935, including a biographical sketch by editor Lorne Pierce and an introduction penned by Sir Charles G.D. Roberts.
In 1945, the Canadian Government honored Sherman as a Persons of National Historic Significance.
A 1947 sculpture on the University of New Brunswick grounds pays tribute to him, portraying Sherman together with poets Bliss Carman and Sir Charles G.D. Roberts.
Publications
- Matins, Boston: Copeland and Day, 1896.
- In Memorabilia Mortis, Boston: Copeland and Day, 1896.
- A Prelude, Boston: Copeland and Day, 1897.
- Two Songs at Parting. Co-authored by John Bodkin and Francis Sherman. Fredericton: n.p., 1899.
- The Deserted City, Boston: Copeland and Day, 1899.
- A Canadian Calendar: XII Lyrics, Havana: n.p., 1900.
- "An Acadian Easter," published in The Atlantic Monthly, April 1900.
- The complete poems of Francis Sherman. Edited by Lorne Pierce with a foreword by Sir Charles G.D. Roberts. Toronto: Ryerson P, 1935.
Bibliographical details are sourced from the New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia unless otherwise indicated.