Gary Barwin
Encyclopedia
Gary Barwin is a Canadian writer
, composer
, and performer who lives in Hamilton
, Ontario
. He writes in a range of genres including poetry
, fiction
, visual and concrete poetry
, music
for live performers and computers, text & sound works, and writing for children and young adults
. 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
, Ontario in the early 70s. He graduated from York University with a BFA in Music and a BA in Creative Writing in 1985 where he studied writing with bpNichol
, Frank Davey
and music with David Mott, James Tenney
, and Trichy Sankaran
. Barwin received a PhD in Music Composition from SUNY at Buffalo in 1995. Barwin taught music at Hillfield Strathallan College
from 2001-2010. He also has taught creative writing in the Certificate in Writing Program at McMaster University
. In addition to his many books, he is the author of numerous chapbooks, and pamphlets, many from his own serif of nottingham editions. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies.
He lives in Hamilton, Ontario with his wife and three children where he directs the Niagara Regional Rhyme Gland Laboratory for the National Rhyme Institute.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and performer who lives in Hamilton
Hamilton, 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....
. He writes in a range of genres including poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, visual and concrete poetry
Concrete poetry
Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on....
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
for live performers and computers, text & sound works, and writing for children and young adults
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
. 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
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario in the early 70s. He graduated from York University with a BFA in Music and a BA in Creative Writing in 1985 where he studied writing with bpNichol
BpNichol
Barrie Phillip Nichol , who often went by his lower-case initials and last name, with no spaces , was a Canadian poet. He became widely known for his concrete poetry while living there in the 1960s...
, Frank Davey
Frank Davey
Frankland Wilmot Davey 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 1961, shortly after receiving his BA, he became one of the founding editors of the...
and music with David Mott, James Tenney
James Tenney
James Tenney was an American composer and influential music theorist.-Biography:Tenney was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Arizona and Colorado. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School of Music, Bennington College and the University of Illinois...
, and Trichy Sankaran
Trichy Sankaran
Trichy Sankaran is an Indian percussionist, composer, scholar, and educator. He is acknowledged as one of the foremost virtuosos of the mridangam and also plays the kanjira on occasion. Since the early 1970s, he has performed and recorded in a number of cross-cultural projects.Sankaran has lived...
. Barwin received a PhD in Music Composition from SUNY at Buffalo in 1995. Barwin taught music at Hillfield Strathallan College
Hillfield Strathallan College
Hillfield Strathallan College is a Canadian private, co-educational day school in Hamilton, Ontario. The academic program runs from Junior Kindergarten or Montessori, until Grade 12. The current headmaster is Mr...
from 2001-2010. He also has taught creative writing in the Certificate in Writing Program at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
. In addition to his many books, he is the author of numerous chapbooks, and pamphlets, many from his own serif of nottingham editions. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies.
He lives in Hamilton, Ontario with his wife and three children where he directs the Niagara Regional Rhyme Gland Laboratory for the National Rhyme Institute.
Awards
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. In 2010, Barwin was a co-winner (with Sandra Ridley) of the bpNichol Chapbook Award for his book Inverting the Deer (serif of nottingham, 2009).Books
- Cruelty to Fabulous Animals, poetry/fiction. Moonstone Press 1995 .
- The Mud Game, novel, collaboration with Stuart RossStuart RossStuart 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 16 by Books by Kids . This book, The Thing in Exile,...
. Mercury Press 1995. - Big Red Baby, short fiction. The Mercury Press, 1998
- Outside the Hat, poetry. Coach House BooksCoach House BooksCoach House Books is an independent Canadian publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario. Coach House publishes innovative and experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundaries of convention.-History:The company was...
, 1998. - Raising Eyebrows, poetry. Coach House Books, 2001.
- Doctor Weep and Other Strange Teeth, fiction. The Mercury Press, 2004.
- Frogments from the Frag Pool, poetry, collaboration with Derek BeaulieuDerek BeaulieuDerek Alexander Beaulieu is a Canadian poet, publisher and anthologist.Beaulieu studied contemporary Canadian poetics at the University of Calgary. His work has appeared internationally in small press publications, magazines, and in visual art galleries...
). Mercury Press, 2005. - The Porcupinity of the Stars, poetry. Coach House Books, Fall 2010.
- 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, 2011.
For Children
- The Racing Worm Brothers, children's fiction. Annick PressAnnick PressAnnick Press is a Canadian book publishing company that was founded in Toronto 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 1999...
, 1998. - The Magic Mustache, children's fiction. Annick PressAnnick PressAnnick Press is a Canadian book publishing company that was founded in Toronto 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 1999...
, 1999. - Grandpa's Snowman, children's fiction. Annick PressAnnick PressAnnick Press is a Canadian book publishing company that was founded in Toronto 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 1999...
, 2000. - Seeing Stars, young adult novel. Stoddart Press, 2001.
- La Moustache Magique, French translation of The Magic Mustache, fiction.Les 400 Coups, 2002.
Recordings
- These Are The Clams I'm Breathing, (audiocassette), sound poetry, collaboration with Stuart RossStuart RossStuart 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 16 by Books by Kids . This book, The Thing in Exile,...
. - Recurring Irritations: Document One (Taproot 33) Burning Press, 1992.
- Martin's Idea, spoken word / music, work for reciter, Musicworks CD #60, 1994.
External links
- Gary Barwin’s website
- Gary Barwin’s blog
- Gary Barwin's page of recorded readings at PennSound
- Gary Barwin at Contemporary Writers
- Online Interviews with Gary Barwin: Lemon Hound blog , H Magazine , OpenBook Toronto , Torontoist , Rob McLennan’s blog
- Examples of Barwin’s work at ditch
- Gary Barwin at GeistGeist (magazine)Geist is Canada's most widely read literary magazine. Geist is published four times a year in Vancouver since 1990. The magazine takes its name from the German word geist, meaning "mind" or "spirit."...
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