Ethel Kirk Grayson Linnea McNally Daryn Wright Canada's Early Women Writers Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory Born digital English Born digital Life writing Biography Bibliography Ethel Kirk Grayson (1890-1980)
Image from Alan Creighton and Hilda M. Ridley, eds., A New Canadian Anthology (Toronto: Crucible, 1938).

A teacher of English literature and an author in many genres, Ethel Kirk Grayson spent most of her life in Moose Jaw, SK.

 20 March 1890, Moose Jaw, SK 27 November 1980, Moose Jaw, SK Name at birth: Ethel Kirk Grayson Note

This author’s life was researched for inclusion in the earlier Canada’s Early Women Writers project at Simon Fraser University. Information in this entry therefore may not be comprehensive, but was verified in 2012-16.

Entry revised by Linnea McNally and Daryn Wright

 Ethel Kirk Grayson (1890-1980)

Ethel Kirk Grayson was born in Moose Jaw, SK, where she died ninety years later. After receiving her basic education in Moose Jaw public schools, she obtained a BA from the University of Toronto (1910) and an MA from the University of Manitoba (1914). She also attended the Curry School of Expression in Boston, MA, for a year (1917). Her academic career included lecturing on English Literature at Alberta College in Edmonton (1913), Mount Allison Ladies' College in Sackville, NB (1918-1921), and MacMurray College for Women in Jacksonville, IL, where she was assistant professor (1924-1928).

A frequent contributor of prose and verse to periodicals, she had received seven literary prizes by 1947. One novel, The Seigneur's Daughter, was serialized in Women's Century (c1920); three others appeared in book form, along with a volume of verse and a memoir. She also published one play, Flower of the Storm, in Willison's Monthly in 1926.

Ethel eventually returned to Moose Jaw, where she died in 1980.

 Published Texts Fiction Willow Smoke (New York: Vinal, 1928) Apples of the Moon (Toronto: Allen, 1933) Fires in the Vine (Toronto: Macmillan, 1942) Life writing Unbind the Sheaves: A Prairie Memoir (Saskatoon, SK: Modern, 1964) Serialized fiction The Seigneur's Daughter (1920)—serialized in Women's Century Poetry <XREF URL="https://archive.org/details/beggarsvelvet0000gray" RESP="KME">Beggar's Velvet</XREF> (Toronto: Ryerson, 1948) Unverified titles The Modern Irish Drama (1914) Periodical Contributions Alberta Poetry Year Book (Edmonton, AB) American Courier Canadian Author and Bookman (Montreal, QC) Canadian Forum (Toronto) Canadian Geographical Journal (Ottawa, ON) Canadian Home Journal (Toronto) Canadian Poetry Magazine (Toronto) Fiddlehead (Fredericton, NB) Globe and Mail (Toronto) National Home Monthly (Winnipeg, MB) Overland Monthly (San Francisco, CA) Saturday Night (Toronto) Shards The Tanager Willison's Monthly (Toronto) Winnipeg Free Press The Writer Other Publications Anthologized in: Creighton, Alan, and Hilda M. Ridley, eds. A New Canadian Anthology (Toronto: Crucible, 1938). Family and Relationships Father: William Grayson (6 March 1856 – 9 June 1926)

William Grayson was a lawyer and the Dean of Saskatchewan Bar. Born in Bradfield, England, in 1856, William married Ellen Babb (1861-after1941) in 1885; they had eight children together. He died in 1926 in Moose Jaw, SK.

 Mother: Ellen Louisa Babb (14 November 1861 – after 1941)

Ellen Louisa Babb was born in Mitchell, ON, in 1861. She married William Grayson (1856-1926) in 1885, and they had eight children together. She died sometime after 1941, presumably in Moose Jaw, SK.

 Siblings Ellen Louisa Jean Grayson (b. 7 June 1886): m. M.J. Torrance William Murray Grayson (b. 13 January 1888): m. Emma Charles Douglas Grayson (b. 27 July 1892): m. Retta May Humphries Vera Grayson (b. c1895) Margaruiette Grayson (b. c1897) Frederick Russell Grayson (July 1899 – 1969): m. Florence Augusta Walters Howard Grayson (b. c1902) Religion Methodist United Church of Canada Residences

Jacksonville, IL (1924-1928)

Moose Jaw, SK (1890-1913, 1928-1980)

Sackville, NB (1918-1921)

 Education

University of Toronto (BA, 1910)

University of Manitoba (MA, 1914)

Curry School of Expression, Boston, MA (1917)

 Awards

Four-time winner of the Canadian Poetry Magazine Poetry Award, including first place for Orchard Fantasia, (Canadian Authors Association, 1939)

Awards from The Writer and Shard magazines

Employment and Volunteer Activities Employment

Assistant Professor, MacMurray College for Women, Jacksonville, IL (1924-1928)

College Lecturer (English)

Concert Reader

Memberships

Canadian Authors Association

 Tangential Information

The 1901 Census of Canada records her birth date as 28 May 1892.

Ethel is sometimes confused with her cousin, artist Ellen Vaughan Kirk Grayson, who wrote two textbooks on art appreciation.

 Archival Holdings Macmillan Company of Canada fonds, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON (correspondence about Fires in the Vine) Ryerson Press Textual Records, Archives and Special Collections, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON (publishing agreement) Published Resources 1891 Census of Canada. 1901 Census of Canada. 1906 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. 1911 Census of Canada. Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956. Canada, WWI CEF Personnel Files, 1914-1918. Creative Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Creative and Performing Artists, vol. 1 (Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1971). Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1969. Manitoba, Canada, Birth Index, 1866-1912. Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934. UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960. Wagner, Anton, ed. The Brock Bibliography of Published Canadian Plays in English, 1766-1978 (Toronto: Playwrights, 1980). Watters, R.E. Checklist of Canadian Literature and Background Materials 1628-1960. 1959 (Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1972): 80, 301.