Kenneth Leslie
| Kenneth Leslie | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 31, 1892 Pictou, Nova Scotia |
| Died | October 6, 1974 (aged 81) Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Nationality |
 Canadian |
| Citizenship | British subject |
| Education | Dalhousie U, U of Nebraska, Harvard U |
| Literary movement | The Song Fishermen |
| Notable works | By Stubborn Stars |
| Notable awards | Governor General's Award |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Moir, Marjorie Finlay Hewitt, Cathy, Nora Steenerson Totten |
| Children | Kathleen, Gloria, Rosaleen, Kenneth Alexander, |
Kenneth Leslie (October 31, 1892 – October 6, 1974) was a Canadian poet and songwriter, and an influential political activist in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. He was the founder and editor of The Protestant Digest (later The Protestant), which had a peak circulation of over 50,000 subscribers. A Christian socialist, he was given the nickname, "God's Red Poet".
Leslie was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, on Hallowe'en, 1892. His father, Robert Jamieson Leslie, was a shipping magnate and in 1905 became a member of the Quebec legislature, but drowned that year when one of his ships, The Lunenberg, sank in a storm off the Magdalen Islands (which were part of his Quebec constituency).
Kenneth Leslie was raised by his mother, Bertha Starratt Leslie. As a boy he learned to play the violin and piano, and loved to sing; he also wrote poetry. He "was a child prodigy, attending Dalhousie University in Halifax at age 14." Later he was educated at Colgate Theological Seminary for a year; the University of Nebraska, where he received his M.A. in 1914; and Harvard, where he studied "under the brilliant idealist Josiah Royce" but did not receive a Ph.D.
Leslie was married four times. His first wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of the wealthy Halifax candy manufacturer, James Moir. The couple led an active social life, travelling widely, acquainted with some of the leading literary and artistic figures of the day. In Halifax they were members of The Song Fishermen, a social and literary set led by their friends, Andrew and Tully Merkel, whose Halifax, Nova Scotia home was "a favourite rendezvous for writers and artists." Leslie became a close friend of Song Fisherman Robert Norwood, "a native of New Ross, N.S. who published eight books of poetry and became, as rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York, one of the most renowned preachers in North America."
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