Isabella Valancy Crawford 1850-1887

Irish-born, Isabella Crawford came to Canada as a young girl and eventually settled in Peterborough. Following her father's death in 1875 she supported her family through writing, and published articles, fiction and poetry in Toronto and New York journals. She later moved to Toronto to further her career and there gained modest success. Although largely unknown in her short lifetime, her reputation has steadily grown so that she is considered to be one of the finest Canadian poets of her generation. She is best remembered for her long poems "Malcolm's Katie" and "Old Spookses' Pass".