Poets

Jean Blewett was born at Scotia, Lake Erie, Ontario. Her parents, John and Janet (MacIntyre) McKishnie, were both natives of Argyllshire. She was educated at the local public school and at the St. Thomas Collegiate Institute. In 1889 she married Mr. Bassett Blewett, a native of Cornwall, England. Through her mother she is related to Duncan Ban MacIntyre, the famous Gaelic poet.

While still in her teens, Mrs. Blewett's poems, short stories and articles in the public press and in magazines began to attract attention; and in 1890, she published a novel, Out of the Depths. Heart Songs, a collection of her verse, appeared in 1897, and at once became popular; and The Cornflower and Other Poems, issued in 1906, increased the author's fame and popularity. One of her poems, 'Spring' captured the prize of six hundred dollars, offered for the best poem on this trite subject, by the Chicago Times-Herald.