H. Isabel Graham

H. Isabel Graham (May 13, 1869 — October 29, 1941) was a Canadian poet.

H. Isabel Graham, from a 1907 publication.

Early life

Hannah Isabel Graham was born at Harpurhey, near Seaforth, Ontario. the daughter of the Rev. William G. Graham, a Presbyterian minister, and Elizabeth Gouinlock. Her parents were both from Scotland. Graham wrote a pamphlet, "Fifty Years of Presbyterianism in Egmondville" (1896), about her father's work.^[1] H. Isabel Graham studied piano, pipe organ, and harmony at the Toronto College of Music.^[2][3]

Career

Graham's poetry was published in Canadian and American newspapers and magazines, and collected in the volumes A Song of December and Other Poems (1904),^[4] Saint Ignace and Other Poems (1934),^[5] and Be of Good Cheer (1939). She sometimes used Scottish English vocabulary, spelling, and other features of the dialect.^[6] Themes were religious or patriotic, with titles including "There's Aye a Something", "Does Memory Live?" "No Country's Like Our Own Dear Land", "The Prodigal Child",^[1] "The Crown",^[7] "To Those Who Wait"^[8] "To An Invalided Soldier", "The Christmas Ship",^[2] and "Open the Door".^[9]

Personal life

Hannah Isabel Graham died in 1941, aged 72 years. Her gravesite (under the name "Hannah Isabella Graham") is with those of her parents, at Egmondville, Ontario.^[10]