Virna Sheard

Virna Sheard (c. 1862–1943) was a Canadian poet and writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She published poetry and prose in Canadian periodicals and in book collections, contributing to the country’s developing literary culture during a period of expanding magazine and newspaper readership. Her work appeared alongside that of other Canadian writers of her era, and she is remembered primarily for her verse as well as short prose pieces circulated through print outlets. Sheard’s career reflects the opportunities and constraints of Canadian authorship at the time, when periodical publication was a principal route to readers and literary recognition.