James Wreford Watson
Encyclopedia
James Wreford Watson was a Scottish
/Canadian geographer
and cartographer, who served as Canada
's Chief Geographer. He was also a Canadian poet
who wrote under the name James Wreford, and who won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Award, for his poetry.
, China
, in 1915, the son of Evelyn Russell Watson and James Watson, a clergyman.
Watson was educated in China and Scotland, and received his B.A. from the University of Edinburgh
in 1936. In 1937 he began teaching at the University of Sheffield
.
In 1939 Watson married Jessie Black, a University of Edinburgh professor of education, who would bear him two children, Margaret and James. The couple moved to Canada the same year.
Watson took a position at McMaster University
in Hamilton, Ontario
, as the University's first regular appointment in geography. He lectured at McMaster from 1939 to 1949. In 1945 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto
.
In 1949 Watson moved to Ottawa
to become chief geographer for the Government of Canada
, a position he held until 1954. He held a concurrent appointment at Ottawa's Carleton University
from 1951 to 1954.
Watson became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1953. In 1954, though, he returned to Scotland, to take the University of Edinburgh's chair of geography.
He taught at the University of Edinburgh from 1954 to 1975. From 1975 to 1982 he was the director of the Centre for Canadian Studies, in Edinburgh
. During that time he was also visiting professor at Queen's University
(1959–1960, 1963, 1978), University of Manitoba
(1969–1970), University of British Columbia
(1971), Simon Fraser University
(1976–1977), and the University of Calgary
(1980–1981 and 1983).
. He applied the ideas of the Chicago school of social ecology
to explain urban geography; the basic theory being that the urban landscape can be explained in terms of its society's social structure. His work "helped develop social geography as a systematic specialization." For instance, he "used the language of the social ecologists to recognize urban transition zones, cultural shatter belts, and distinct zones associated with the different socioeconomic groups within Hamilton."
Watson also applied the concepts of social geography on a continental scale to examine regional differentiation in North America
. "Here his work emphasized social problems associated with multiracial
development, the ‘energy crisis
’, conservation of resources, urban decay
, and suburban sprawl."
, Ronald Hambleton, P.K. Page, and Raymond Souster
). The Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) says that they show "his technical skill – particularly in the use of the quatrain
"; but also his weaknesses: obscurantism, didactism, and a habit of asking questions, "which becomes ponderous at times."
The DLB classified the poetry of Wreford's award-winning first book, Of Time and the Lover (1950), "as Christian
pastoral
elegy
in that many of his poems portray man existing in a fallen world.... The poet seeks for himself and mankind ... redemption, renewed life, and hope." It also noted Watson's "use of climatological, geological, and geographical images and metaphors."
Geography was also prominent in Wreford's second and last book of poetry, 1979's Countryside Canada. There the poet "responds through poetry to a series of places, from Newfoundland to the Yukon
... the geographer-poet attempts to demonstrate the strength of his culture and his own personal roots in it."
.
Watson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
in 1954, and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
in 1957.
The Canadian Geographers Association gave Watson a special award in 1987 for his services to Canadian geography.
He held honorary degrees from five universities.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
/Canadian geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
and cartographer, who served as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's Chief Geographer. He was also a Canadian poet
Canadian poetry
- Beginnings:The earliest works of poetry, mainly written by visitors, described the new territories in optimistic terms, mainly targeted at a European audience...
who wrote under the name James Wreford, and who won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Award, for his poetry.
Life and work
James Wreford Watson was born in ShaanxiShaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, in 1915, the son of Evelyn Russell Watson and James Watson, a clergyman.
Watson was educated in China and Scotland, and received his B.A. from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in 1936. In 1937 he began teaching at the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
.
In 1939 Watson married Jessie Black, a University of Edinburgh professor of education, who would bear him two children, Margaret and James. The couple moved to Canada the same year.
Watson took a position at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, as the University's first regular appointment in geography. He lectured at McMaster from 1939 to 1949. In 1945 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
In 1949 Watson moved to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
to become chief geographer for the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
, a position he held until 1954. He held a concurrent appointment at Ottawa's Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
from 1951 to 1954.
Watson became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1953. In 1954, though, he returned to Scotland, to take the University of Edinburgh's chair of geography.
He taught at the University of Edinburgh from 1954 to 1975. From 1975 to 1982 he was the director of the Centre for Canadian Studies, in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. During that time he was also visiting professor at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
(1959–1960, 1963, 1978), University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
(1969–1970), University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
(1971), Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
(1976–1977), and the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
(1980–1981 and 1983).
Social Geography
Watson was a pioneer of social geographySocial geography
Social geography is the branch of human geography that is most closely related to social theory in general and sociology in particular, dealing with the relation of social phenomena and its spatial components. Though the term itself has a tradition of more than 100 years, there is no consensus on...
. He applied the ideas of the Chicago school of social ecology
Social ecology
Social ecology is a philosophy developed by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s.It holds that present ecological problems are rooted in deep-seated social problems, particularly in dominatory hierarchical political and social systems. These have resulted in an uncritical acceptance of an overly...
to explain urban geography; the basic theory being that the urban landscape can be explained in terms of its society's social structure. His work "helped develop social geography as a systematic specialization." For instance, he "used the language of the social ecologists to recognize urban transition zones, cultural shatter belts, and distinct zones associated with the different socioeconomic groups within Hamilton."
Watson also applied the concepts of social geography on a continental scale to examine regional differentiation in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. "Here his work emphasized social problems associated with multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
development, the ‘energy crisis
Energy crisis
An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
’, conservation of resources, urban decay
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
, and suburban sprawl."
Poetry
James Wreford's standing in Canadian poetry rests mainly on two publications. The first was the seminal 1944 anthology Unit of Five, which featured thirteen of his poems (alongside poetry by Louis DudekLouis Dudek
Louis Dudek, OC was a Canadian poet, academic, and publisher known for his role in defining Modernism in poetry, and for his literary criticism. He was the author of over two dozen books...
, Ronald Hambleton, P.K. Page, and Raymond Souster
Raymond Souster
Raymond Holmes Souster, OC is a Canadian poet whose writing career spans almost 70 years. He has published more than 50 volumes of his own verse, and edited or co-edited a dozen volumes of others' poetry...
). The Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) says that they show "his technical skill – particularly in the use of the quatrain
Quatrain
A quatrain is a stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines of verse. Existing in various forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and China; and, continues into the 21st century, where it is...
"; but also his weaknesses: obscurantism, didactism, and a habit of asking questions, "which becomes ponderous at times."
The DLB classified the poetry of Wreford's award-winning first book, Of Time and the Lover (1950), "as Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
in that many of his poems portray man existing in a fallen world.... The poet seeks for himself and mankind ... redemption, renewed life, and hope." It also noted Watson's "use of climatological, geological, and geographical images and metaphors."
Geography was also prominent in Wreford's second and last book of poetry, 1979's Countryside Canada. There the poet "responds through poetry to a series of places, from Newfoundland to the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
... the geographer-poet attempts to demonstrate the strength of his culture and his own personal roots in it."
Recognition
Watson's first book of poetry, Of Time and the Lover, won the Governor General's Award in 19501950 Governor General's Awards
In Canada, the 1950 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were the fourteenth such awards. The awards in this period had no monetary prize but were an honour for the authors.-Winners:*Fiction: Germaine Guèvremont, The Outlander ....
.
Watson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
in 1954, and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
in 1957.
The Canadian Geographers Association gave Watson a special award in 1987 for his services to Canadian geography.
He held honorary degrees from five universities.
Prose
- The Geography of the Niagara Peninsula, with Special Emphasis on Changes in Land Use and Settlement. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1945.
- General Geography (1953)
- North America, Its Countries and Regions. London, Longmans, 1963.
- The Canadians: How They Live and Work by Jessie Watson, James Wreford Watson (David & Charles Publishers) ISBN 0887600859
- Social Geography of the United States by Jessie Watson, James Wreford Watson (Longman, 1979) ISBN 058248197X
Poetry
- Unit of Five: Louis Dudek, Ronald Hambleton, P.K. Page, Raymond Souster, James Wreford. (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 19441944 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The first and second lines of Paul Verlaine's 1866 poem Chanson d'automne were broadcast by the Allies over Radio Londres this year as a message in code to the...
). - Of Time and the Lover. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 19501950 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*Charles Olson publishes his seminal essay, Projective Verse. In this, he called for a poetry of "open field" composition to replace traditional closed poetic forms with an improvised form that should...
. - Countryside Canada.Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead, 19791979 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Kenyon Review is restarted by Kenyon College 10 years after the original publication was closed....
.
Edited
- with J.B. Sessons. The British Isles. Edinburgh. Published for the 20th International Geographic Conference.