Laurence Bradford Dakin

Laurence Bradford Dakin (1904–1972) was a writer and poet born in Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia and lived throughout Europe, eventually moving to Laguna Hills, California where he died. His best known work was Marco Polo: A Drama in Four Acts (1946), which reportedly sold over 30,000 copies in the United States and was hailed by John Masefield as the "work of a genius." Dakin was published by Obelisk Press.

Dakin was published by Obelisk Press, a Paris-based avant-garde publisher famous for championing literary modernism and challenging censorship in the mid-20th century.

In addition to Marco Polo, Dakin authored at least one other work, The House of Orseoli, published in 1952 by Famouth Publishing House. While this title is less widely known and appears primarily through antiquarian listings, its existence broadens Dakin’s catalog.

His wife was watercolor painter Ilene Dakin (née Stitchbury). He had a son, Marco Dakin, and a grandchild, Anders Dakin.

Dakin is referenced in two notable biographical sources:

At the Sign of the Hand and Pen (p. 42), which includes a brief profile of his life and work.

Nova Scotians at Home and Abroad: Biographical Sketches of Over Six Hundred Native-Born Nova Scotians (p. 128), affirming his origin from Sandy Cove and marking his place among Nova Scotian cultural figures.