Bibliography & Criticism

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The Poetry of Old Niagara compiled by Kevin McCabe

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This page is an attempt to create a bibliography of the anthologies of Niagara poetry, and criticism and reviews of various poems and poets about Niagara.

Anthologies of Niagara Poetry

Dow, Charles MasonAnthology and Bibliography of Niagara Falls. Albany: State of New York, 1921.

Johnson, F.H. Guide to Niagara Falls and Its Scenery. Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1864.
•    Baxley, Dr.  A Sabbath at Niagara

Johnson, Richard L. (ed).  Niagara: Its History, Incidents and Poetry. Washington, Walter Neale General Book Publisher, 1898
•    Johnson, R. L.  Apostrophe to Niagara

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (comp.)  Poems of Places: America: Middle States. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., c1879

McCabe, Kevin, ed. The Poetry of Old Niagara. St. Catharines, Ont. : Blarney Stone Books, 1999.

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Niagara Mornings by Andrew Porteus

Porteus, Andrew CNiagara Mornings.  Niagara Falls, Ont.  Grey Borders Press, 2016

Click to see the Table of Contents and the introduction to Niagara Mornings. Includes links to the Niagara Mornings photographs.

Pritchard, Myron T. , comp. Poetry of Niagara. Boston: Lothrop Publishing Co., 1901.

Severance, Frank H.  Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier.  Buffalo:  The Matthews-Northrup Co.,  1899
•   McGuire, Michael.  Thoughts on Niagara
•   Palmer, Frank B.  Apostrophe to Niagara 

Table rock album and sketches of the Falls and scenery adjacent.  Buffalo : Jewett, Thomas, 1850
•    Click to see the table of contents

Casual References to Niagara Falls in Poetry

Casual references to Niagara Falls occur often in poetry. While these do not justify adding the complete poem to this site, it is interesting to see where they appear and by whom. As more are found, they will be added to this page.
Click here to visit this page

Criticism of Niagara Literature

Bentley, D.M.R.   Monumental Tensions: the Commemoration of British Political and Military Heroes in Canada from his Mnemographia Canadensis, volume 1: Muse and Recall. 1994 (archived on the WayBack Machine)

Carr, Jamie M. Niagaras of Ink: Famous Writers at the Falls. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2020.

Dow, Charles Mason.  Anthology and Bibliography of Niagara Falls. Albany: State of New York, 1921. Many of the entries in Dow’s Anthology contain short summaries of the poems, as well as sometimes pithy comments about the poem itself. Click here for his short summary of Niagara poetry in general

McGreevy, Patrick M. Imagining Niagara: The Meaning and Making of Niagara. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1994

McKinsey, Elizabeth RNiagara Falls: Icon of the American Sublime. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Porteus, Andrew. The Development of the Poetry Walking Tour of Niagara Falls Using Mobile App Technology. St. Catharines: Brock University Library Digital Repository, 2020 (MA Major Research Project) [includes sections on Niagara poetry] Available digitally by clicking here

Revie, Linda Lee. The wilds of Niagara: Constructions of the Falls in fine arts, literary and scientific narratives, from discovery through the twentieth century.  Boston: Boston College, 1998.  [Ph.D. thesis]

Severance, Frank H.  Niagara — Its Poets. Paper read at the  March 10, 1893 meeting of the Rochester Historical Society.

Severance, Frank HNotes on the Literature of the War of 1812. Paper read at the annual meeting of the Ontario Historical Society, 1912.

Severance, Frank H.  Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier.  Buffalo:  The Matthews-Northrup Co.,  1899 (Chapter entitled Niagara and the Poets)
Available digitally by clicking here

Shields, Rob. Places on the Margin: Alternative Geographies of Modernity. London: Routledge, 1991. (Section entitled Niagara Falls: Honeymoon Capital of the World)

 

Criticism of Individual Poets

Alexander, James Lynne

A Critical Edition of “Wonders of the West, or, a Day At the Falls of Niagara, in 1825 : a poem”  ed. by Amanda St. Jean.  London, Ont. : Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Western Ontario, 1995   [M.A. thesis]

Crapsey, Adelaide

Heredia,  José María

Kirby, William

Palmer, Frank. Apostrophe to Niagara

Pratt, Parley P.

 

Origins, Pronunciation, and Variants of the Word “Niagara”

A page discussing theories of the origins and pronunciation of the workd “NIagara.” Variants of the word “Niagara” also occur on occasion. This page lists some of them.

Articles & Interviews

Fika With Vicky interview, November 2, 2019

Langley, Alison.  “Celebrating National Poetry Month With a Niagara Falls Flavour”  Niagara Falls Review, April 5, 2021

Langley, Alison. “The History of Niagara Falls Through Poetry” Niagara Falls Review, December 29, 2019

Longo, Joe. Niagara Falls Review Library Column, December 11, 2004

Porteus, Andrew. “The Genesis of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project.”  Write, vol.47, no. 2. Summer 2019

Porteus, Andrew.  “Honeymoon Couplets”  Niagara Current magazine, vol. 1, no. 1, August 2003

Presentations

Brock University Text, Context, Intertext in Narrative: Constituting and Locating the Self in Culture Colloquium, November 2019. Narrativeness and Self in the Poetry of Niagara Falls.

Canadian Screens: 32nd Annual Two Days of Canada Conference. November 2019. From Page to Small Screen: The Niagara Falls Poetry Project

Lundy’s Lane Historical Society. April 2023. The Niagara Way of Death: Depictions of Death and Near-Death in the Poetry of Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library. January 2020. A Non-chronological and Incomplete History of Niagara Falls in Poetry

Niagara University, October 2019. The Niagara Falls Poetry Project.

OALT/ABO Conference. May 2019. A Non-chronological and Incomplete History of Niagara Falls in Poetry in Motion.

Popular Culture Association National Conference (PCA 2022) April 2022 The Niagara Falls Poetry Project : Recovery, Preservation & Interpretation of Poetry of (a Particular) Place

https://youtu.be/2qnTEtycu8c

Popular Culture Association National Conference (PCA 2023), April 2023. The Niagara Way of Death: Depictions of Death and Near-Death in the Poetry of Niagara Falls. See blog note Popular Cuture Association National Conference, 2023


Resources for Poems About Places

Niagara Falls Poetry Map

A few links to sites of resources of poetry about places