Chris Faiers
Encyclopedia
Chris Faiers is a librarian
, poet
and publisher of Unfinished Monument Press
.
, Ontario
, his family emigrated to the southern United States
when he was six. Although a Canadian citizen by birth, he was eligible for the draft for the Vietnam War
as a resident alien. Faiers became an anti-war activist in Miami, Florida
, attending demonstrations, organizing a campus group and publishing an underground newsletter. Around 1968 Faiers began writing haiku
poetry under the tutelage of Eric Amann, the publisher of Haiku magazine. He left the U.S. forever in June 1969.
Faiers lived for two years in the largest commune
in the United Kingdom
, the derelict Eel Pie Island
Hotel in Twickenham. Eel Pie Dharma: a memoir/haibun tells the story of his explorations and adventures in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He returned to Canada in 1972 and joined the anti-imperialist Canadian Liberation Movement. In the CLM he met poets Milton Acorn
and James Deahl
and resumed writing poetry.
in 1978. He hosted a poetry reading series at the Main Street Library in Toronto, Ontario
, and has been a proponent of Canadian haiku
. Faiers was also a founding member of the Canadian Poetry Association
, with James Deahl, Shaunt Basmajian
and Wayne Ray
and a founding member of Haiku Canada, with Eric Amann, George Swede
, Margaret Saunders and others. In 1987 Faiers was the first recipient of the Milton Acorn People's Poetry Award for his book Foot Through the Ceiling (1986). He moved to the Kawartha Lakes
area of Ontario in 1989. He worked at the library in Stirling, Ontario for 10 years.
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and publisher of Unfinished Monument Press
Unfinished Monument Press
Unfinished Monument Press was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1978 by Chris Faiers. It is presently operating out of Hamilton, Ontario under the editorship of James Deahl.Books it has published include:*Dominion Day in Jail, Chris Faiers...
.
Biography
Born in HamiltonHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, his family emigrated to the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he was six. Although a Canadian citizen by birth, he was eligible for the draft for the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
as a resident alien. Faiers became an anti-war activist in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, attending demonstrations, organizing a campus group and publishing an underground newsletter. Around 1968 Faiers began writing haiku
Haiku in English
Haiku in English is a development of the Japanese haiku poetic form in the English language.Contemporary haiku are written in many languages, but most poets outside of Japan are concentrated in the English-speaking countries....
poetry under the tutelage of Eric Amann, the publisher of Haiku magazine. He left the U.S. forever in June 1969.
Faiers lived for two years in the largest commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the derelict Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat...
Hotel in Twickenham. Eel Pie Dharma: a memoir/haibun tells the story of his explorations and adventures in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He returned to Canada in 1972 and joined the anti-imperialist Canadian Liberation Movement. In the CLM he met poets Milton Acorn
Milton Acorn
Milton James Rhode Acorn , nicknamed The People's Poet by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island....
and James Deahl
James Deahl
James Deahl is a Canadian poet and publisher.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Deahl grew up in the city and in and around the Laurel Highlands region of the Appalachian Mountains. He moved to Canada in 1970 and holds dual American/Canadian citizenship...
and resumed writing poetry.
Literary activities
In addition to writing haiku, lyrical and political poetry, Faiers founded Unfinished Monument PressUnfinished Monument Press
Unfinished Monument Press was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1978 by Chris Faiers. It is presently operating out of Hamilton, Ontario under the editorship of James Deahl.Books it has published include:*Dominion Day in Jail, Chris Faiers...
in 1978. He hosted a poetry reading series at the Main Street Library in Toronto, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and has been a proponent of Canadian haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
. Faiers was also a founding member of the Canadian Poetry Association
Canadian Poetry Association
The Canadian Poetry Association began as a grass-roots organization dedicated to promoting the reading, writing, publishing and preservation of poetry in Canada through the individual efforts of members; promoting communication among poets, publishers and the general public; encouraging leadership...
, with James Deahl, Shaunt Basmajian
Shaunt Basmajian
Shaunt Basmajian was a Canadian poet and author.Born in Beirut, Lebanon to Armenian parents, Basmajian emigrated to Canada when he was seven years old. He was a founder of the Canadian Poetry Association, co-founder of Old Nun Publications , and was a member of the Parliament Street Library poetry...
and Wayne Ray
Wayne Ray
Wayne Scott Ray is a Canadian poet and photographer.Ray is the founder of HMS Press publishing, Scarborough Arts Council Poetry Contest, co-founder of the Canadian Poetry Association and co-chairman of the League of Canadian Poets: Associates for 1985/1986...
and a founding member of Haiku Canada, with Eric Amann, George Swede
George Swede
George Swede , is a Canadian psychologist, poet and children's writer who lives in Toronto, Ontario...
, Margaret Saunders and others. In 1987 Faiers was the first recipient of the Milton Acorn People's Poetry Award for his book Foot Through the Ceiling (1986). He moved to the Kawartha Lakes
Kawartha Lakes
The city of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Although called a city, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontarian county and is mostly rural....
area of Ontario in 1989. He worked at the library in Stirling, Ontario for 10 years.
Published works
- Cricket Formations (haiku), C & C Printing Richmond, England, 1969
- Guest in a Garden (haiku), C & C Printing, Richmond, England, 1969
- Dominion Day in Jail (Unfinished Monument Press, 1978)
- College Streetcar Runs All Night (Unfinished Monument Press, 1979)
- White Rasta (Unfinished Monument Press, 1980)
- Sleeping in Ruins (Unfinished Monument Press, 1981)
- Unacknowledged Legislator, blewointmentpress, 1981
- White Rasta in Wintertime (Unfinished Monument Press, 1982)
- Island Women (HMS Press, 1983)
- Five Minutes Ago They Dropped the Bomb (Unfinished Monument Press, 1984)
- Foot Through the Ceiling, Aya/Mercury Press, 1986
- Mr. Library Man, Haiku Canada Broadsheet, 1988
- 13 Bohemian Dreams, Unfinished Monument Press, 1988
- Moon City (haiku), Greensleeve Publishing, 1989
- Eel Pie Dharma: a memoir/haibun, Unfinished Monument Press, 1990