Ken Babstock
Encyclopedia
Ken Babstock is a Canadian
poet
. He was born in Newfoundland
and raised in the Ottawa Valley
. Babstock began publishing his poems in journals and anthologies, winning gold at the 1997 Canadian National Magazine Awards. He currently lives in Toronto
, Ontario
.
, Ontario, in the Ottawa Valley.
Award and the 2000 Atlantic Poetry Prize
. According to the official edition of 1999, Mean is a stunning exploration of the threshold and divide between our primeval origins and the meanness of our everyday lives." Babstock has since published a second collection, Days into Flatspin, which has also come in for high critical praise.
He was the winner of a K.M. Hunter Award. His poems have won Gold at the National Magazine Awards, have been anthologized in Canada and the United States, and have been translated into Dutch, Serbo-Croatian, and Latvian.
Babstock worked as Poetry Faculty at the Banff Centre for the Arts and currently lives in Toronto
. He is currently the poetry editor for the Toronto-based press House of Anansi.
Babstock's most recent collection, Airstream Land Yacht, won the Trillium Book Award
, was shortlisted for the 2007 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize
, and was nominated for the 2006 Governor General's Award for poetry
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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...
. He was born in Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
and raised in the Ottawa Valley
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
. Babstock began publishing his poems in journals and anthologies, winning gold at the 1997 Canadian National Magazine Awards. He currently lives in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, 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....
.
Early years
Babstock discovered poetry in his teens, growing up in PembrokePembroke, Ontario
Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
, Ontario, in the Ottawa Valley.
Career and Awards
Babstock's first collection in 1999, Mean, won him the Milton AcornMilton 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....
Award and the 2000 Atlantic Poetry Prize
Atlantic Poetry Prize
The Atlantic Poetry Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia, to the best work of poetry published by a writer from the Atlantic provinces.-Winners:*1998 - Carmelita McGrath, To the New World...
. According to the official edition of 1999, Mean is a stunning exploration of the threshold and divide between our primeval origins and the meanness of our everyday lives." Babstock has since published a second collection, Days into Flatspin, which has also come in for high critical praise.
He was the winner of a K.M. Hunter Award. His poems have won Gold at the National Magazine Awards, have been anthologized in Canada and the United States, and have been translated into Dutch, Serbo-Croatian, and Latvian.
Babstock worked as Poetry Faculty at the Banff Centre for the Arts and currently lives in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. He is currently the poetry editor for the Toronto-based press House of Anansi.
Babstock's most recent collection, Airstream Land Yacht, won the Trillium Book Award
Trillium Book Award
The Trillium Award is given annually by the government of the Province of Ontario and is open to books in any genre: fiction, non-fiction, drama, children's books, and poetry. Anthologies, new editions, re-issues and translations are not eligible. Three jury members per language judge the...
, was shortlisted for the 2007 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize
Griffin Poetry Prize
The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
, and was nominated for the 2006 Governor General's Award for poetry
2006 Governor General's Awards
The shortlisted nominees for the 2006 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 16. Winning titles were announced on November 21...
.
External links
- Griffin Poetry Prize biography
- Griffin Poetry Prize reading, including video clip
- Profile on House of Anansi Press Web site
- Ken Babstock talks about his private bookshelf, online from CBC Words at Large (audio)
- Airstream Land Yacht by Ken Babstock
- Ken Babstock biography
- Ken Babstock and Jan Conn
- author page at Lyrikline.orgLyrikline.orglyrikline.org hosts contemporary international poetry as audio and text , plus bibliographies and biographies for each poet.lyrikline.org was started in November 1999 as a German-language site...
, with audio, text, and biography.