Lawren Harris In the Ward: His Urban Poetry and Paintings

This is a unique historical journey that will offer readers a glimpse of our country’s past as it was: renowned Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris boldly brings to us, by way of poetry and painting, a snapshot of early urbanization.

In 1922, as the Group of Seven was emerging as a national phenomenon, Lawren Harris published his only book of poems — Contrasts — the first modernist exploration of Canadian urban space in verse. Harris also wandered the streets of Toronto, sketching, and creating a powerful set of urban paintings.

Lawren Harris: In the Ward brings his poetry and painting together for the first time. The book, including previously unpublished poems, offers a new view of Harris’ pre-Group of Seven career, while presenting an exciting window into Canadian urban space at the turn of the century.