Last week a colleague placed a novel in my hand as we passed each other in the hall en route to our respective classes. The Lark in the Clear Air, by Dennis T. Patrick Sears. “My all-time favourite,” he said. Indeed, his copy had a well-loved appearance.
Gingerly removing the disintegrating jacket lest I commit any further damage, I discovered a letter from the author, addressed to my colleague’s father, pasted inside the front cover. Dated the 2nd of October, 1975, Sears’ letter includes the following line:
This may sound silly in an age of cynicism but appreciation from readers is, to me, worth more than the financial rewards.”
Sears’ genuine gratitude and personal letter added to the book’s charm.
I immensely enjoyed both the time and place of this coming of age story — rural Ontario in the early years of the Great Depression, particularly the mentions of nearby Beaverton and Lindsay.
A little rough around the edges at times, readers currently enjoying the writings of Ray Robertson (Gently Down the Stream) would surely appreciate the tone and voice of this Canadian classic. It strikes me as a northern response to Erskine Caldwell‘s Tobacco Road or God’s Little Acre; I wonder how it is possible that The Lark in the Clear Air is not a part of today’s New Canadian Library series.
Sears is wonderfully witty, and his novel seems to suggest that, if we could simply clear the air a little, life truly would be a lark.
He knew, for instance, what made cock meadowlarks sing and fly in the clear air of the day, and it wasn’t simply to amuse a half-drunk old man and a raw slug of a youth. They did that, Mick said, for the purpose of staking claim to whatever territory they required to feed themselves and the family they expected. He said it wasn’t any different from what the human species set out to do, only a lark knew when to quit and he didn’t horn in and fence off a whole lot more land than what he could properly handle or what was needed for any given season. A human had more wart-hog in him than he had meadowlark and that was what was wrong with the world.”
Though I may never have a class set to teach from, The Lark in the Clear Air is a must read for both educators and youth with an interest in Canadian Literature.
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Image by qmnonic
By the way, Sears’ probable inspiration:
“The Lark in the Clear Air”
– a poem by Phyllis Tate, 1960
Dear thoughts are in my mind, and my soul soars enchanted
As I hear the sweet lark sing in the clear of day
For a tender beaming smile to my hope has been granted,
And tomorrow she shall hear all my fond heart would say.
I shall tell her all my love, all my soul’s adoration,
And I think she will hear and will not say me nay.
It is this that gives my soul all its joyous elation,
As I hear the sweet lark sing in the clear of the day.
I read this book over 20 years ago and after spending the weekend at the Carden Nature Festival and listening to the Lark in the locale of this novel, I was searching online to order a copy when I found your site. It is a lovely and memorable read.
Valerie, thank you for your comment on ‘The Lark in the Clear Air’. I too would like to get my hands on a copy of this book for my own personal library here. It is a novel that I am already looking forward to reading again. Perhaps McClelland & Stewart will someday update the NCL series to reintroduce this to bookshelves everywhere?
I appreciate your favourable comments regarding my dad’s book, “The Lark In The Clear Air”, as you are no doubt aware he also wrote, “Fair Days Along The Talbert”, and “Aunty High Over The Barleymow”.
As far as inspiration, he always admired birds, especially songbird. I believe his favourite bird was the regally plumed Cardinal, although the regally clad religious specimen drew rather ribald comments.
One of the conundrums facing writers today is a lack of practice, where an aspiring Shakespeare could hone his literary skills. Dad wrote numerous articles for the Kingston Whig Standard, and shared the odd libation with it’s then editor Robert O’Brian. The more he wrote the better his prose until at the urging of Mr. O,Brian he penned his first book.
We need to make available to the apprentice space where he or she can scatter their thoughts, not to say we should not be critical, we should, but seeing one small article in print make the heart beat more furiously, as it did for me the first time a small article was accepted in a newspaper.
I blather on, and I do not mean to, but I did want to thank you for your kind words.
Yours
Patrick Dennis L Sears
thank you for wrting about my great grandfathers book.
Thank you Patrick, and Dennis, for your comments. It was an honour and a pleasure to post a reflection on this novel, and to hear from the author’s family.
Patrick, I greatly appreciated your thoughts on the value of writing and publishing. I see in my students that true pride in one’s work must ultimately be achieved outside of the classroom. An article published does more for my students’ self-esteem than prime placement on the classroom bulletin board.
I also read “Aunty High Over the Barley Mow” last year, and have recently got my hands on a copy of “Fair Days Along the Talbert.” These books confirm for me what “Lark…” suggested: that your father’s (and, Dennis, your great grandfather’s) writing is some of Canada’s finest.
I wish I could tell the author that “The Lark in the Clear Air” remains a favourite of mine; I think of it often and am truly grateful for its writing, for its publication, and that it was placed in my hands. I highly recommend it to readers everywhere.