Arthur James Marshall Smith was one of Canada’s earliest and greatest champions of modernist poetry in Canada. Born and raised in Montreal, he attended McGill University, where he co-founded and edited The McGill Fortnightly Review. Smith’s first volume of verse, News of the Phoenix (1943) won a Governor General’s Award. Though remembered primarily for his poetry and criticism, his work as an anthologist greatly influenced the course of Canadian literature. Smith lived most of his adult life in East Lansing, Michigan, where he taught at Michigan State University. His summers were spent at the family cottage at Drummond Point in the Eastern Townships.

Further information about the life and works of A.J.M. Smith:
- The Canadian Encyclopedia entry
- Wikipedia entry
- "An Interview with A.J.M. Smith", Canadian Poetry