Pauline Johnson is a symbol of the sharp division between the so-called serious and popular literary cultures in Canada. Although she has been almost entirely ignored in scholarship and academic anthologies, she is one of the few Canadian poets--Robert Service being another--whose names are familiar to the general public.

Emily Pauline Johnson was born 10 March 1861 on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario, the youngest of the four children of G. H. Johnson, head chief of the Six Nations, and his English wife Emily (née Howells). Despite her mixed heritage, Johnson always regarded herself as an Indian. Her Mohawk name was Tekahionwake.

Although two of her poems were included in the important anthology Songs of the Great Dominion (1889), Johnson's career began in earnest in June 1892 when she was included in a group of poets who read before the Young Liberal Club of Toronto. The enthusiastic reception...