Teacher of English and Drama at Alma College in St. Thomas, Ontario: 1940-1942
Teacher of English and Drama at the Saint John Vocational School: 1942-1972
Born in Saint John in 1911, Kay Smith was a graduate of Saint John High School and Mount Allison Ladies' College. She also studied drama at Columbia University in New York. She first taught English and Drama at Alma College in Ontario. She then began a distinguished teaching career at the Saint John Vocational School, where her annually directed play by Shakespeare became one of Saint John City's cultural highlights.
A distinguished Canadian poet, her first collection of poetry appeared in 1951. Four other volumes followed, the last being The Bright Particulars in 1987. She has been widely anthologized; and for her contributions to Canadian poetry she was made an honorary life member of the League of Canadian Poets in 1988. Other honors include an honorary LL.D. from the University of New Brunswick (Saint John) in 1988 and the Alden Nowlan Award for Literary Arts in 1991. Her death occurred on September 18, 2004.
