'Songs of a Sourdough' Summary

"Songs of a Sourdough" is a book of poems written by Canadian poet and author Robert W. Service. It was published in 1907 and is one of his most famous and popular works. The book contains a collection of poems about the Canadian wilderness and the life of a gold prospector in the Klondike region of the Yukon Territory during the late 19th century. The poems are known for their rugged and romantic portrayal of life in the wilderness, and for their depiction of the harsh and unforgiving environment of the Klondike.

"Songs of a Sourdough" is considered a classic of Canadian literature and is still widely read and appreciated today. It is known for its vivid and evocative portrayal of the natural beauty and harsh realities of the Canadian wilderness, and for its depiction of the hardy and independent spirit of the gold prospectors who braved the harsh conditions of the Klondike in search of wealth and adventure.

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Service, an employee of the Imperial Bank of Canada, was posted to Whitehorse, Yukon, in 1904. He "took part in the extremely active Whitehorse social life. As was popular at the time he recited at concerts – things like "Casey at the Bat" and "Gunga Din", but they were getting stale."  

One day (Service later wrote), while pondering what to recite at an upcoming church concert he met E.J. "Stroller" White, editor of the Whitehorse Star. White suggested: "Why don’t you write a poem for it? Give us something about our own bit of earth. We sure would appreciate it. There’s a rich paystreak waiting for someone to work. Why don’t you go in and stake it?"  

Out on a walk one Saturday night, Service heard the sounds of revelry coming from a saloon, and the phrase "A bunch of the boys were whooping it up" popped into his head. Inspired, he ran to the bank to write it down (almost being shot as a burglar), and by the next morning "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" was complete.  

"A month or so later he heard a gold rush yarn from a Dawson mining man about a fellow who cremated his pal." He spent the night walking in the woods composing "The Cremation of Sam McGee," and wrote it down from memory the next day.  

Other verses quickly followed. "In the early spring he stood above the heights of Miles Canyon ... the line 'I have gazed on naked grandeur where there’s nothing else to gaze on' came into his mind and again he hammered out a complete poem, “The Call of the Wild". Conversations with locals led Service to write about things he had not seen (some of which had not actually happened) as well. He did not set foot in Dawson City until 1908, arriving in the Klondike ten years after the Gold Rush when his renown as a writer was already established.