Gary Barwin
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Gary Barwin (born 1964 in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
) is a Canadian poet, writer, composer, multimedia artist, performer and educator who lives in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. He writes in a range of genres including poetry, fiction,
visual poetry Visual poetry is a style of poetry that incorporates graphic and visual design elements to convey its meaning. This style combines visual art and written expression to create new ways of presenting and interpreting poetry. Visual poetry focuses on ...
, music for live performers and computers, text and sound works, and writing for children and
young adults In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
. His music and writing have been presented in Canada, the US, Japan, and Europe. Barwin was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and emigrated to
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, Ontario, in the early 1970s. He graduated from York University with a BFA in music and a BA in creative writing in 1985, where he studied writing with
bpNichol Barrie Phillip Nichol (30 September 1944 – 25 September 1988), known as bpNichol, was a Canadian poet, writer, sound poet, editor, creative writing teacher at York University in Toronto and grOnk/Ganglia Press publisher. His body of work ...
,
Frank Davey Frankland Wilmot Davey, FRSC (born April 19, 1940) is a Canadian poet and scholar. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he grew up in the Fraser Valley village of Abbotsford. In 1957 he enrolled at the University of British Columbia where, in ...
and music with David Mott,
James Tenney James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microt ...
, and
Trichy Sankaran Trichy Sankaran (born 27 July 1942) is an Indian percussionist, composer, scholar, and educator. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2011. As a mridangam ''vidwan'', he has been called a "doyen among the percussionist ...
. Barwin received a PhD in music composition from
SUNY at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 as ...
in 1995. Barwin taught music at
Hillfield Strathallan College Hillfield Strathallan College is an independent, co-educational day school in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The academic program runs from Montessori Toddler and Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12. The Head of college is Marc Ayotte. ...
from 2001 to 2010. He also has taught creative writing at King's University College (Western University), in the Certificate in Writing Program at
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
, and at
Mohawk College Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public college of applied arts and technology located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1966, the college currently has five main campuses: the Fennell Campus on the Hamilton Mount ...
, and at the Art Forms (Urban Arts Initiative) for street-involved youth. In addition to books, he is the author of
chapbooks A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
and pamphlets, many from his own serif of nottingham editions. His work has appeared in anthologies. He was the Fall 2013 eWriter in Residence at the
Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2023 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other public library system internationally, making i ...
, the 2014–2015 Writer-in-Residence at Western University and the
London Public Library The London Public Library (LPL) is the public library system of London, Ontario, Canada. All 16 locations city-wide offer services and programs for adults, teens and children residing in London and the surrounding counties of Oxford, Middlesex, a ...
, and the writer-in-residence at Hillfield Strathallan College in 2016–2017, the 2017–2018 Writer-in-Residence at McMaster University and the
Hamilton Public Library The Hamilton Public Library (HPL) is the public library system of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Services HPL services include the Local History and Archives department (formerly called Special Collections), which houses an extensive collection of ...
, and was 2019 Edna Staebler Writer-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has also been writer-in-residence at University of Toronto (Scarborough), and Sheridan College, He lives in Hamilton, Ontario where he directs the Niagara Regional Rhyme Gland Laboratory for the National Rhyme Institute.


Awards

Barwin was the winner of the 2013 City of Hamilton Arts Award (Writing) and the Hamilton Poetry Book of the Year (2001 and 2011), and co-winner of the 2011 Harbourfront Poetry NOW competition. He has received major grants from the
Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...
and the
Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...
. He was the recipient of the 1998 Artist Award from the KM Hunter Foundation. ''Seeing Stars'', a YA novel, was a 2001 finalist for the CLA YA book of the year, and was nominated for an
Arthur Ellis Award The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing published in t ...
. In 2009, Barwin won a bpNichol Chapbook Award for his book ''Inverting the Deer''. Barwin's novel ''Yiddish for Pirates'' won the 2017
Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...
, the Canadian Jewish Literary Award (Fiction), and was shortlisted for the
Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...
and the
Governor General's Award for English-language fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English."Governor-General's Literary Award short list a serious case of déjà vu"
''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', October 4, 2016.


Books

*1995: ''Cruelty to Fabulous Animals'', poetry/fiction. Moonstone Press *1995: ''The Mud Game'', novel, collaboration with
Stuart Ross Stuart Ross is a Canadian fiction writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor. Ross was born in Toronto's north end in 1959 and grew up in the Borough of North York. He began writing at a very young age and was first published at age ...
. Mercury Press *1998: ''Big Red Baby'', short fiction. The Mercury Press *1998: ''Outside the Hat'', poetry.
Coach House Books Coach House Books is an independent book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Coach House publishes experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundar ...
*2001: ''Raising Eyebrows'', poetry. Coach House Books *2004: ''Doctor Weep and Other Strange Teeth'', fiction. The Mercury Press *2005: ''Frogments from the Frag Pool'', poetry, collaboration with Derek Beaulieu). Mercury Press *2010: ''The Porcupinity of the Stars'', poetry. Coach House Books. *2011: ''The Obvious Flap'', poetry, collaboration with Gregory Betts, BookThug *2011: ''Franzlations: the Imaginary Kafka Parables'', (poetry, collaboration with Craig Conley and Hugh Thomas). New Star. *2014: ''Moon Baboon Canoe'', poetry. Mansfield Press. *2015: ''The Wild and Unfathomable Always'', visual poetry. Xexoxial Editions* *2015: ''I, Dr. Greenblatt, Orthodontist'', 251-1457, fiction. Anvil Press *2015: ''Sonosyntactics: Selected and New Poetry of Paul Dutton,'', poetry. Edited and introduced by Barwin. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. *2016: ''Yiddish for Pirates'', novel. Random House Canada *2017: ''No TV for Woodpeckers'', poetry. Buckrider Books, Wolsak and Wynn Press. *2019: ''A Cemetery for Holes,'' poetry with Tom Prime. Gordon Hill Press. *2019: ''For It'' ''Is a Pleasure and a Surprise to Breathe: New and Selected Poems''. Alessandro Porco, ed.,
Wolsak and Wynn Wolsak & Wynn Publishers is a Canadian publishing company based in Hamilton, Ontario. It was founded in 1982, and has been owned by Noelle Allen since 2007. Imprints of Wolsak and Wynn include Buckrider Books, James Street North Books, and Popl ...
. *2020: ''Me Then You Then Me'' (poetry with Kathryn Mockler.) Knife Fork Books. *2021: ''Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy''. Random House Canada. *2022: ''The Fabulous Op''. (poetry, collaboration with Gregory Betts). Beir Bua. *2022: ''The Most Charming Creatures''.' (poetry) ECW Press. *2022: ''Bird Arsonist.'' (poetry with Tom Prime.) New Star. *2023: ''Bird Eats Yeast, Quacks, Explodes; Man Loses Eye (poetry with Lillian Nećakov.) Guernica Editions. *2023: ''Imagining Imagining: Essays on Language, Identity and Infinity.'' Wolsak and Wynn. *2024: ''Scandal at the Alphorn Factory: New & Selected Short Fiction, 2024-1984.''https://assemblypress.ca/shop/scandal-alphorn-factory Assembly Press.


For children

*1998: ''The Racing Worm Brothers'', children's fiction.
Annick Press Annick Press is a Canadian book publishing company that was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1975 by Anne Millyard and Rick Wilks. Rick Wilks became the sole owner in 2000. A second editorial office was opened in Vancouver by Colleen MacMillan in 1 ...
*1999: ''The Magic Mustache'', children's fiction. Annick Press *2000: ''Grandpa's Snowman'', children's fiction. Annick Press *2001: ''Seeing Stars'', young adult novel. Stoddart Press *2002: ''La Moustache Magique'', French translation of ''The Magic Mustache'', fiction.


As editor

*1995:''Sonosyntactics: Selected and New Poetry of Paul Dutton'', edited & with an introduction, Wilfrid Laurier University Press


Recordings

*''These Are The Clams I'm Breathing'', (audiocassette), sound poetry, collaboration with
Stuart Ross Stuart Ross is a Canadian fiction writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor. Ross was born in Toronto's north end in 1959 and grew up in the Borough of North York. He began writing at a very young age and was first published at age ...
*1992: ''Recurring Irritations: Document One'' (Taproot 33) Burning Press *1994: ''Martin's Idea'', spoken word / music, work for reciter, Musicworks CD #60 *2021: ''Blind Willie Johnson's Consonants and the Tree Frogs of Jamaica,'' compositions. Bandcamp. *2021: ''This is Not a Sad Song'', with Gregory Betts and bill bissett, spoken word / music, Bandcamp *2024: ''Burnt Scissors'', spoken word / music, Bandcamp


See also

*
Canadian literature Canadian literature is written in several languages including Canadian English, English, Canadian French, French, and various Indigenous Canadian languages. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in th ...
*
Canadian poetry Canadian poetry is poetry of or typical of Canada. The term encompasses poetry written in Canada or by Canadian people in the official languages of English and French, and an increasingly prominent body of work in both other European and Indigen ...
*
List of Canadian poets This is a list of Canadian poets. Years link to the corresponding "earin poetry" articles. A * Mark Abley (born 1955), poet, journalist, editor, and non-fiction writer. * Milton Acorn (1923–1986), poet, writer, and playwright * José Ac ...
*
List of Canadian writers This is a list of Canadian literature, Canadian literary figures, such as poets, novelists, children's writers, essayists, and scholars. __NOTOC__ A B C Jenny Denis 1983 high Fantasy YA Dragons of Nesbit E F G H I J ...
*
List of Canadian Jews This list of Canadian Jews includes notable Canadian Jews or Canadians of Jewish descent, arranged by field of activity. Academic figures Biology and medicine * Eric Berne (1910–1970), psychiatrist * John Bienenstock (1936– ), immunologist ...


References


External links


Gary Barwin's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barwin, Gary Living people 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets Canadian male novelists University at Buffalo alumni 1964 births Writers from Belfast Writers from Hamilton, Ontario 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets York University alumni Academic staff of McMaster University Jewish Canadian writers Stephen Leacock Award winners 21st-century Canadian male writers Visual poets Poets from Ontario Novelists from Ontario