E. A. Jenns
E. A. Jenns, circa 1880s
E. A. Jenns, circa 1880s
BornEustace Alvanley Jenns
(1860-07-14)July 14, 1860
Middlewich, Cheshire, United Kingdom
DiedJune 21, 1930(1930-06-21) (aged 69)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationLawyer
GenresPoetry

Eustace Alvanley Jenns (1860–1930), usually known as E. A. Jenns, was a Canadian poet and lawyer. In 1880, he published the first book of poetry in British Columbia, Evening to Morning, and Other Poems.[1] He practiced law in New Westminster and Vancouver. His second volume of verse, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Other Poems, appeared in 1910. Apart from poetry, Jenns also wrote political and literary articles.

Biography

The son of Reverend Percival Jenns and Emma Jane Arden, Eustace Alvaney Jenns was born in Middlewich, Cheshire, England, on 14 July 1860.[2] At the age of five, he accompanied his parents to Victoria, British Columbia, where his father was to be minister for the Anglican diocese.[3] Jenns was educated at Collegiate School in Victoria, and St. John's College, in Hurstpierpont, Sussex.[2]

Under the direction of the Victoria publishers, Thomas Napier Hibben and Robert Taylor Williams, Jenns learned the art of typesetting and bookbinding. In 1880, encouraged by his old schoolmaster, he decided to publish his poetry. The result was a beautifully bound volume, Evening to Morning, and Other Poems. Five hundred copies were printed for sale. When Jenns later recalled the books from the distributors, he found that only one copy had been sold.[1] An 1881 review appeared in the London illustrated newspaper The Graphic. It described the title poem, concerned with eternal mysteries, as perhaps beyond the young poet's powers, but the Norse inspired Battle Song had spirit.[4] In 1895, The Province, a Victoria weekly newspaper, dismissively opined the book wasn't of high merit.[5] The poetry has also been described as "innocuous".[1]

During his law studies, Jenns articled with Alexander Rocke Robertson and David McEwen Eberts. From 1881 to 1887 he was registrar of the Supreme Court and County Court in New Westminster.[2][3] In 1884, against the wishes of her parents, he married Madeline Fortune Webster in the town of Granville, later known as Vancouver. They had one son followed by five daughters.[2] Jenns became partners in the New Westminster firm of Corbould, McColl & Jenns, before establishing his own practice in 1891.[2][3] In 1905, he relocated to Vancouver.[2] Three years later, he won a shareholder lawsuit against the estate of the second mayor of Vancouver, David Oppenheimer.[6][7]

In 1910, Jenns published a second volume of verse, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Other Poems. The title page states the book was for private circulation only. According to Jenns' preface, the poems were written between 1881 and 1885.[8] A favourable profile of Jenns and the work was featured in The Province in 1924, remarking that the variety of sonnets, lyrics, soliloquies, and ballads, displayed versatility of inspiration and mood.[9]

In his later years, Jenns was librarian for the Vancouver Courthouse.[3] Besides his two volumes of verse, he published individual poems as well as political and literary articles, often in local newspapers. He died on 21 June 1930 in Vancouver.[2][3]

Archival fonds related to Jenns are located at the University of British Columbia[10] and the British Columbia Archives.[11]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Zilm, Glennis (1981). "Poetry and Vanity Printing". Early B.C. Books: An Overview of Trade Book Publishing in British Columbia in the 1800s with Checklists and Selected Bibliography Related to British Columbiana (M.A. Thesis). Simon Fraser University. pp. 86–89. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Moen, Robert (27 October 2013). "Jenns, Eustace Alvanley (1860-1930)". WestEnd Vancouver. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Eustace Jenns Died Saturday". The Province. Vancouver. 23 June 1930. p. 1. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com Free access icon.
  4. ↑ "Recent Poetry and Verse". The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper. London. 16 July 1881. p. 12. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com Free access icon.
  5. ↑ Dangan (pen name) (3 August 1895). "The Library". The Province. Victoria. p. 6. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com Free access icon.
  6. ↑ "Shareholder Wins Against Executors". The Province. Vancouver. 9 March 1908. p. 1. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com Free access icon.
  7. ↑ "Are You a Creditor of Old Tramway?". The Province. Vancouver. 13 March 1908. p. 17. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023 – via Newspaper.com Free access icon.
  8. ↑ Jenns, E. A. (1910). Orpheus and Eurydice, and Other Poems. Vancouver: The News-Advertiser. Retrieved 7 October 2023 – via Canadiana.
  9. ↑ "Court Library Holds Store of Legal Wisdom". The Province. Vancouver. 2 February 1924. p. 16. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com Free access icon.
  10. ↑ E. A. Jenns fonds. 1890. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  11. ↑ "Eustace Jenns fonds". B.C. Archives. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
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