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Edition 29 (2017) Winner
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Edition 33 (2021) Winner
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Edition 35 (2023) Winner
Gary Barwin
ゲイリー・バウィン
Gerī Barwin
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1964-01-01 （Belfast, Northern Ireland）
- Nationality
- Canada
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Belfast, Northern Ireland → Ottawa, Ontario → Hamilton, Ontario
Career
- Occupations
- poet, writer, composer, multimedia artist, performer, educator
- Active Years
- 1995-2024
- Affiliations
- Hillfield Strathallan College, King's University College (Western University), McMaster University, Mohawk College
- Influenced By
- bpNichol, Frank Davey, James Tenney, Trichy Sankaran
- Nominations
- Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist (Yiddish for Pirates, 2016), Governor General's Award for English-language fiction shortlist (Yiddish for Pirates, 2016), CLA YA Book of the Year finalist (Seeing Stars, 2001), Arthur Ellis Award nomination (Seeing Stars)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York University | — | Music and Creative Writing | BFA in music and BA in creative writing | — | Canada |
| State University of New York at Buffalo | — | Music Composition | PhD in music composition | — | United States |
York University
Music and Creative Writing
Degree:
BFA in music and BA in creative writing
Year of Graduation:
1985
Country:
Canada
Studied writing with bpNichol, Frank Davey and music with David Mott, James Tenney, Trichy Sankaran
State University of New York at Buffalo
Music Composition
Degree:
PhD in music composition
Year of Graduation:
1995
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | City of Hamilton Arts Award (Writing) | — | — | City of Hamilton | winner |
| 2001 | Hamilton Poetry Book of the Year | — | — | — | winner |
| 2011 | Hamilton Poetry Book of the Year | — | — | — | winner |
| 2011 | Harbourfront Poetry NOW competition | — | — | — | co-winner |
| 1998 | KM Hunter Foundation Artist Award | — | — | KM Hunter Foundation | winner |
| 2009 | bpNichol Chapbook Award | Inverting the Deer | — | — | winner |
| 2017 | Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour | Yiddish for Pirates | — | — | winner |
| 2017 | Canadian Jewish Literary Award (Fiction) | Yiddish for Pirates | — | — | winner |
City of Hamilton Arts Award (Writing)
2013
Organization:
City of Hamilton
Result:
winner
Hamilton Poetry Book of the Year
2001
Result:
winner
Hamilton Poetry Book of the Year
2011
Result:
winner
Harbourfront Poetry NOW competition
2011
Result:
co-winner
KM Hunter Foundation Artist Award
1998
Organization:
KM Hunter Foundation
Result:
winner
bpNichol Chapbook Award
2009
Work:
Inverting the Deer
Result:
winner
Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour
2017
Work:
Yiddish for Pirates
Result:
winner
Canadian Jewish Literary Award (Fiction)
2017
Work:
Yiddish for Pirates
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
1 appearances
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Edition 70 (2017) Winner
Works
Major Works
Yiddish for Pirates
2016 novelA humorous pirate adventure narrated by a Yiddish-speaking parrot in the 15th century.
humourJewish cultureadventurelanguage
The Porcupinity of the Stars
2010 poetryPoetic exploration of porcupine-like stars and surreal imagery.
surrealismnaturelanguage play
Moon Baboon Canoe
2014 poetryExperimental poetry featuring moon, baboon, and canoe motifs.
experimental poetryimagery
Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy
2021 novelBallad-style novel featuring cowboy Motl.
identityhistory
Imagining Imagining: Essays on Language, Identity and Infinity
2023 essaysEssays on language, identity, and infinity.
languageidentityinfinity
Bibliography
- 1995: Cruelty to Fabulous Animals, Moonstone Press
- 1995: The Mud Game, Mercury Press
- 1998: Big Red Baby, The Mercury Press
- 1998: Outside the Hat, Coach House Books
- 2001: Raising Eyebrows, Coach House Books
- 2004: Doctor Weep and Other Strange Teeth, The Mercury Press
- 2005: Frogments from the Frag Pool, Mercury Press
- 2010: The Porcupinity of the Stars, Coach House Books
- 2011: The Obvious Flap, BookThug
- 2011: Franzlations: the Imaginary Kafka Parables, New Star
- 2014: Moon Baboon Canoe, Mansfield Press
- 2015: The Wild and Unfathomable Always, Xexoxial Editions
- 2015: I, Dr. Greenblatt, Orthodontist, Anvil Press
- 2015: Sonosyntactics (ed.), Wilfrid Laurier University Press
- 2016: Yiddish for Pirates, Random House Canada
- 2017: No TV for Woodpeckers, Buckrider Books
- 2019: A Cemetery for Holes, Gordon Hill Press
- 2019: For It Is a Pleasure and a Surprise to Breathe, Wolsak and Wynn
- 2020: Me Then You Then Me, Knife Fork Books
- 2021: Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted, Random House Canada
- 2022: The Fabulous Op, Beir Bua
- 2022: The Most Charming Creatures, ECW Press
- 2022: Bird Arsonist, New Star
- 2023: Bird Eats Yeast, Quacks, Explodes; Man Loses Eye, Guernica Editions
- 2023: Imagining Imagining, Wolsak and Wynn
- 2024: Scandal at the Alphorn Factory, Assembly Press
Translations of Works
- La Moustache Magique (French translation of The Magic Mustache)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- experimentalvisual poetrysound poetryhumorouscollaborative
- Recurring Motifs
- language playabsurdityidentitynatureJewish themes
Legacy
Renowned Canadian poet, writer, composer, and multimedia artist known for experimental works and humorous novels, winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal, shortlisted for Giller Prize and Governor General's Award.
Trivia
- Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, emigrated to Canada in the early 1970s.
- Lives in Hamilton, Ontario, directing the Niagara Regional Rhyme Gland Laboratory.