Lesson

Explore the first two websites on the Resources page.
Study the photos within the site to get an indication as to the difficulties of climbing in the Canadian Rockies.

"Earle Birney (1904-1995) was born in Calgary and raised in the mountain country near Banff and Creston. An only child, he developed a love of books and nature. Birney worked as a manual labourer for two years before entering UBC, first in Science, then English Literature. After his degree, he held a variety of university teaching positions. Birney eventually finished his MA and PhD at the University of Toronto. He taught at U.of T., then, after WWII at the University of B.C. where he eventually became Chairman of the Creative Writing program, the first of its kind in Canada. Along with his poetry, Birney wrote two novels, a collection of short fiction, numerous articles, reviews and radio talks.

"Birney's early poems espouse a desire for order out of chaos. However, Birney's idea of order does not rest in Christian faith, but rather on the value of common man and the humanist virtues of love and compassion. Birney's relationship to nature both respects nature's processes and recognizes the need to struggle against it and against our own tendency to despoil it. Birney insists that humanity has the power to choose, and gives to each of us the power to create our own destiny.

"'David', one of Birney's earliest poems, is also one of his greatest." - youngpoets.ca

Before you read, consider that Canada now has "medical assistance in dying" legislation.

  • euthanasia - “the bringing about of a gentle and easy death, as for a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma” – The Oxford English Reference Dictionary
  • Some people believe that it is always wrong to end a human life, while others believe that it is acceptable in some circumstances. Think about what you believe?

Read the poem, "David".
Read the analysis of "David".