Robert Billings (1949 – 1986) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

poet and editor.

Biography

Robert Billings was born in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

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and raised in

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The town is located at the south eastern corner of the region, on the Niagara River, directly across the Canada–United States border from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of ...

. He held two master's degrees in English from Queen's University and the

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

. Billings became well known in Canadian literary circles as a poet, critic, teacher, and editor of Poetry Canada Review and Poetry Toronto. His poems and reviews of Canadian poetry have appeared widely in Canada,

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, and the

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. Suffering from depression after the breakdown of his marriage, Billings committed suicide at Niagara Falls in November 1986. Efforts to find the body were halted once Horseshoe Falls froze over, and the ice melted before his body was recovered six months later in June.

Literary activities

During the 1980s Robert Billings was editor for literary magazines such as ''Quarry'', ''Poetry Windsor'', ''Poesie'', ''Poetry Canada Review'' and ''Waves''. He was also very active as a poet.

Published works

* ''blue negatives'' Fiddlehead Poetry Books #212 Fred Cogswell * ''The Elizabeth Trinities'' Penumbra Press, 1980 * ''The Revels'', Porcupine's Quil Inc., 1987

References

External links

Penumbra Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billings, Robert 1949 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets