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Only top-level descriptions Denoon, James 1802-approximately 1890
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James Denoon Fonds

  • CA RBD MSG 1078
  • Fonds
  • 1850-1890

Fonds consists of forty notebooks containing poetry and essays written by Sgt. James Denoon of the Royal Artillery. These are copies of his works dating back to 1832 made by him while at his residence, Maple Bank in Three Rivers, Quebec during roughly the period from 1883 to 1890 to pass on to his granddaughter, Bertha. Denoon’s notebooks contain sporadic notes and commentary giving further information on the subjects of his poems and on his activities. There is some repetition of material, but several notebooks containing duplicated works are found to differ and contain various revisions, in some cases with significant differences. An article written by Carmine Starnino in the Arc Poetry Magazine (Summer, 2007) about this group of notebooks after they were discovered in Westmount, Quebec, discusses the merits of Denoon’s poetry and how they fit into 19th-century society during a time when many newspapers were inserting the works of everyday “closet poets”. In an editorial statement soliciting amateur poetry, the Quebec Gazette which published at least a pair of Denoon’s works described their purpose: As may at once please the Fancy and instruct the Judgement.

Denoon, James 1802-approximately 1890