Stringer's chief claim to poetic fame today rests on his 1914 book, Open Water, the first book by a Canadian poet to use free verse in its preface he proclaimed that the modernist movement of which he was part was a 'natural evolution'. The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature described Stringer's poetry as 'undistinguished verse.' However, author John Garvin said of his poetry 'there is maintained a standard of beauty, depth of feeling, and technical power, which in Canada have had all too little recognition.' Garvin also similarly praised Stringer's blank verse drama Sappho in Leucadia. However, his prairie trilogy – Prairie Wife (1915), Prairie Mother (1920), and Prairie Child (1921) – has been called 'an enduring contribution to Canadian literature.' The trilogy uses a diary form to tell the tale of its narrator, a New England socialite who marries a Scots-Canadian farmer.

Stringer's crime and adventure stories were later criticized as stereotypical and containing inaccurate representation of Canadian settings. Stringer remained a resident of New Jersey until his death in 1950, aged 76. Film scripts on which he worked include The Perils Of Pauline (1914), The Hand Of Peril (1916), The House Of Intrigue (1919), Unseeing Eyes (1923), Empty Hands (1924), The Canadian (1926), The Purchase Price (1932), The Lady Fights Back (1937), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) and The Iron Claw (1941). He wrote early science fiction novels, The Story Without a Name (1924) with Russell Holman, and The Woman Who Couldn't Die (1929). He wrote as well in many other genres, from social realism (his 'Prairie' trilogy, 1915–1921) to psychological fiction ( The Wine of Life (1921). Stringer wrote crime fiction and wilderness adventures, mainly using conventional formulae. In 1921, the Stringers moved to Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, where Arthur Stringer continued to write. They divorced in 1914, and Stringer married his cousin, Margaret Arbuthnott. In the same year he bought a farm on the shore of Lake Erie and married actress Jobyna Howland, known as the original Gibson girl. His first novel, The Silver Poppy, came out in 1903. His first poem in Harper's, 'Remorse', appeared in February 1899. In 1898 he got a job with the American Press Association, moved to New York City, and began publishing in The Atlantic and Harper's. At this time he was also publishing in Saturday Night and the Canadian Magazine. In 1895 he worked for the Montreal Herald. Stringer's first book of poetry, Watchers of Twilight and Other Poems, was published in 1894. He then attended University College, University of Toronto from 1892 to 1894 and later studied at Oxford University. At the Institute he founded and edited a school magazine called Chips. In 1884 the family moved to London, Ontario, where Charles attended London Collegiate Institute. Arthur Stringer, The Silver Poppy Early life

The Prairie Child by Arthur Stringer