Richard Outram
Encyclopedia
Richard Daley Outram was a Canadian
poet
. Often regarded as a poet's poet, he wrote eleven commercially published books of poetry in addition to the many collections of poetry and prose published under the imprint of the Gauntlet Press. In 1999 he won the City of Toronto Book Award for his sequence of poems Benedict Abroad.
, Ontario
. His mother, née Mary Muriel Daley, was the daughter of a Methodist minister centrally involved in the negotiations which led to the creation of the United Church of Canada
. While working as a schoolteacher, Outram's mother met and married his father, Alfred Allan Outram, in Port Hope
, Ontario. Allan Outram, son of the owner of the hardware store in Port Hope, served and was wounded in the First World War. By profession, he was an engineer. The couple moved to Toronto
. From 1944 to 1949, Outram attended highschool in Leaside
, which was then still on the outskirts of the city.
From 1949 to 1953, he was enrolled in the Honours B.A., English and Philosophy course at Victoria College
in the University of Toronto
. Two of his teachers, the philosopher Emil Fackenheim
and the critic Northrop Frye
, with the latter of whom Outram studied Milton
, Spenser
and (when E.J. Pratt became ill) Shakespeare
, had a profound and lasting effect on him. During the summers of 1950 and 1951, Outram also served as an officer cadet in the reserve system of the Royal Canadian Navy
, aboard frigates in the Bay of Fundy
and at HMCS Stadacona
in Halifax
, Nova Scotia
.
After graduation, Outram worked with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC) as a television stagehand for a year, then he moved to London
, England
, where he worked as a television stagehand for the British Broadcasting Corporation between 1955 and 1956. During those years he began to write poetry. During them also, he met his future wife, the Toronto painter and wood engraver Barbara Howard. They returned to Toronto to marry in 1957. Outram went back to work with the CBC, first, again, as a television stagehand, then as a stage crew foreman, a position he held until early retirement at the age of sixty in 1990. Having lost his wife in 2002, Outram took his own life, dying of hypothermia in Port Hope, Ontario
.
Between 1966 and 2001, Outram wrote ten commercially published collections of poetry (South of North: Images of Canada, with drawings by Thoreau MacDonald
was published posthumously in 2007). In addition to these commercial publications, Outram issued over a dozen other collections of poetry and prose under the imprint of the Gauntlet Press, a small private press which he founded with his wife in 1960. Its limited editions (60-80 copies) of four small collections by Outram, Creatures (1972), Thresholds (1973), Locus (1974) and Arbor (1976), illustrated with wood engravings by Howard, are prized by collectors and can be found in public collections such as the University of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
, which is also the repository for Outram's personal papers and manuscripts.http://www.library.utoronto.ca/fisher/collections/findaids/outram457.pdf
The Gauntlet Press also issued a series of broadsheets
of Outram's poems throughout the 1970s and 1980s, all of them designed (and many illustrated) by Howard. In the early 1990s the Gauntlet Press switched from letterpress to digitally based production on the computer. As well as his poem and prose broadsheets, the press during this electronic phase issued nine small books by Outram in limited editions. Among them are Around & About the Toronto Islands (1993); Tradecraft and Other Uncollected Poems (1994); Eros Descending (1995); Ms Cassie (2000) and Lightfall (2001). Many of the poems from these Gauntlet Press publications (with the exception of Ms Cassie and Lightfall ) have been gathered into the commercially available Dove Legend and Other Poems.
Digital facsimiles of the books and broadsheets of the Gauntlet Press in the collection of the Memorial University of Newfoundland can be viewed at the website dedicated to The Gauntlet Press of Richard Outram and Barbara Howard , together with extensive background material and an exhaustive bibliography.
wrote: “Richard Outram’s metaphysical message is neither fashionable nor easy to grasp, but he is one of the best poets writing in English.” Outram's work transcends fashion, expressing a private voice of public consequence in poems of great formal variety and range of tone. He is a most mercurial writer, delighting in satire and farce, in low and high comedy, in metaphysical poems of intricate philosophical complexity and dignity, in straightforward or not so straightforward lyrical love poems, and in dramatic soliloquies voiced for outrageously imagined characters, including some animals. Outram may write straightforward narrative poems in which, as is not usually the case in contemporary narrative poems, things really do happen consecutively. He can also write subtle parables and allegories, or commit squibs and puns or propose riddles and anagrams. His poetry must be read while attending to the full meaning of every word. It has been said that the best companion a reader can have when trying to fully appreciate an Outram poem is an etymological dictionary. It has also been argued that there is, at the same time, an ‘other’, more intuitively accessible side to his poetry.
Many years before his death, Outram wrote what he often referred to as his own epitaph:
Epitaph for an Angler
To haunt the silver river and to wait
Were second nature to him, his own bait:
Unravelling at last a constant knot,
He cast his line clear: and was promptly caught.
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...
. Often regarded as a poet's poet, he wrote eleven commercially published books of poetry in addition to the many collections of poetry and prose published under the imprint of the Gauntlet Press. In 1999 he won the City of Toronto Book Award for his sequence of poems Benedict Abroad.
Life
Outram was born in OshawaOshawa, Ontario
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, 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 mother, née Mary Muriel Daley, was the daughter of a Methodist minister centrally involved in the negotiations which led to the creation of the United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
. While working as a schoolteacher, Outram's mother met and married his father, Alfred Allan Outram, in Port Hope
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
, Ontario. Allan Outram, son of the owner of the hardware store in Port Hope, served and was wounded in the First World War. By profession, he was an engineer. The couple moved to 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...
. From 1944 to 1949, Outram attended highschool in Leaside
Leaside
Leaside is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family, who settled there in the early years of the nineteenth century. The area first developed as farmland along with Toronto through the nineteenth century. It was incorporated as a...
, which was then still on the outskirts of the city.
From 1949 to 1953, he was enrolled in the Honours B.A., English and Philosophy course at Victoria College
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Victoria University is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1836 and named for Queen Victoria. It is commonly called Victoria College, informally Vic, after the original academic component that now forms its undergraduate division...
in the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Two of his teachers, the philosopher Emil Fackenheim
Emil Fackenheim
Emil Ludwig Fackenheim, Ph.D. was a noted Jewish philosopher and Reform rabbi.Born in Halle, Germany, he was arrested by the Nazis on the night of November 9, 1938, known as Kristallnacht...
and the critic Northrop Frye
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
, with the latter of whom Outram studied Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
and (when E.J. Pratt became ill) Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, had a profound and lasting effect on him. During the summers of 1950 and 1951, Outram also served as an officer cadet in the reserve system of the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
, aboard frigates in the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
and at HMCS Stadacona
HMCS Stadacona
HMCS Stadacona was a commissioned patrol boat of the Royal Canadian Navy that served in the First World War and postwar until 1920.-Origins:Launched as the American yacht Columbia, she was acquired by the RCN in 1915...
in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
After graduation, Outram worked with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(CBC) as a television stagehand for a year, then he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he worked as a television stagehand for the British Broadcasting Corporation between 1955 and 1956. During those years he began to write poetry. During them also, he met his future wife, the Toronto painter and wood engraver Barbara Howard. They returned to Toronto to marry in 1957. Outram went back to work with the CBC, first, again, as a television stagehand, then as a stage crew foreman, a position he held until early retirement at the age of sixty in 1990. Having lost his wife in 2002, Outram took his own life, dying of hypothermia in Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
.
Work
Thoreau MacDonald
Thoreau MacDonald was a Canadian illustrator, designer and painter.MacDonald was the son of Group of Seven member J. E. H. MacDonald. He was mainly self-taught, but he did work with his father...
was published posthumously in 2007). In addition to these commercial publications, Outram issued over a dozen other collections of poetry and prose under the imprint of the Gauntlet Press, a small private press which he founded with his wife in 1960. Its limited editions (60-80 copies) of four small collections by Outram, Creatures (1972), Thresholds (1973), Locus (1974) and Arbor (1976), illustrated with wood engravings by Howard, are prized by collectors and can be found in public collections such as the University of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition to institutional records, also contains the papers...
, which is also the repository for Outram's personal papers and manuscripts.http://www.library.utoronto.ca/fisher/collections/findaids/outram457.pdf
The Gauntlet Press also issued a series of broadsheets
Broadside (printing)
A broadside is a large sheet of paper printed on one side only. Historically, broadsides were posters, announcing events or proclamations, or simply advertisements...
of Outram's poems throughout the 1970s and 1980s, all of them designed (and many illustrated) by Howard. In the early 1990s the Gauntlet Press switched from letterpress to digitally based production on the computer. As well as his poem and prose broadsheets, the press during this electronic phase issued nine small books by Outram in limited editions. Among them are Around & About the Toronto Islands (1993); Tradecraft and Other Uncollected Poems (1994); Eros Descending (1995); Ms Cassie (2000) and Lightfall (2001). Many of the poems from these Gauntlet Press publications (with the exception of Ms Cassie and Lightfall ) have been gathered into the commercially available Dove Legend and Other Poems.
Digital facsimiles of the books and broadsheets of the Gauntlet Press in the collection of the Memorial University of Newfoundland can be viewed at the website dedicated to The Gauntlet Press of Richard Outram and Barbara Howard , together with extensive background material and an exhaustive bibliography.
The poetry
In a 1988 essay titled "Hard Truths", the literary critic Alberto ManguelAlberto Manguel
Alberto Manguel is a Canadian Argentine-born writer, translator, and editor. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such as The Dictionary of Imaginary Places , A History of Reading , The Library at Night and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: A Biography ; and novels such as News...
wrote: “Richard Outram’s metaphysical message is neither fashionable nor easy to grasp, but he is one of the best poets writing in English.” Outram's work transcends fashion, expressing a private voice of public consequence in poems of great formal variety and range of tone. He is a most mercurial writer, delighting in satire and farce, in low and high comedy, in metaphysical poems of intricate philosophical complexity and dignity, in straightforward or not so straightforward lyrical love poems, and in dramatic soliloquies voiced for outrageously imagined characters, including some animals. Outram may write straightforward narrative poems in which, as is not usually the case in contemporary narrative poems, things really do happen consecutively. He can also write subtle parables and allegories, or commit squibs and puns or propose riddles and anagrams. His poetry must be read while attending to the full meaning of every word. It has been said that the best companion a reader can have when trying to fully appreciate an Outram poem is an etymological dictionary. It has also been argued that there is, at the same time, an ‘other’, more intuitively accessible side to his poetry.
Many years before his death, Outram wrote what he often referred to as his own epitaph:
Epitaph for an Angler
To haunt the silver river and to wait
Were second nature to him, his own bait:
Unravelling at last a constant knot,
He cast his line clear: and was promptly caught.
Poetry
- Eight Poems. Toronto: Tortoise Press, 1959.
- Exsultate, Jubilate. Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1966.
- Scarlatti at Improvisation (pamphlet). Toronto: Aliquando Press, 1972.
- Creatures. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1972.
- Railway (broadside). Toronto: Aliquando Press, 1973.
- Seer. With drawings by Barbara Howard. Toronto: Aliquando Press, 1973.
- Thresholds. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1973.
- Below Zero (broadside). Toronto: Aliquando Press, 1974.
- Locus. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1974.
- Turns and Other Poems. London, Toronto: Chatto and Windus with the Hogarth Press, 1975, and Anson-Cartwright Editions, 1976. ISBN 0-919974-00-7
- Arbor. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1976.
- The Promise of Light. Toronto: Anson-Cartwright Editions, 1979. ISBN 0-919974-05-8
- Selected Poems (1960-1980). Toronto: Exile Editions, 1984. ISBN 0-920428-85-1
- Man in Love. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine's Quill, 1985. ISBN 0-88984-069-5
- Hiram and Jenny. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine's Quill, 1989. ISBN 0-88984-118-7 http://porcupinesquill.ca/bookinfo3.php?index=36
- Mogul Recollected. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine's Quill, 1993. ISBN 0-88984-174-8 http://porcupinesquill.ca/bookinfo3.php?index=90
- Around & About the Toronto Islands. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1993.
- Hiram and Jenny, Unpublished Poems. Ottawa: Food for Thought Books, 1994.
- Tradecraft and Other Uncollected Poems. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1994.
- Eros Descending. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1995.
- Benedict Abroad. St. Thomas Poetry Series, Toronto, 1998. ISBN 0-9697802-0-x (Winner of the 1999 City of Toronto Book AwardCity of Toronto Book AwardThe Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the city of Toronto to the author of the year's best fiction or non-fiction book or books "that are evocative of Toronto"....
) http://www.toronto.ca/book_awards/tba_benedict99.htm - Ms Cassie. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 2000.http://collections.mun.ca/gauntletpress/www/bibliorecords.php
- Dove Legend & Other Poems. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine's Quill, 2001. ISBN 0-88984-221-3 http://porcupinesquill.ca/bookinfo3.php?index=137
- Lightfall. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 2001.
- Nine Shiners. Port Hope: n.p., 2003. With reproductions of paintings by Barbara Howard.
- Brief Immortals. Port Hope: n.p., 2003. With reproductions of paintings by Barbara Howard.
- South of North: Images of Canada, with drawings by Thoreau MacDonald. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine's Quill, 2007. ISBN 978-0-88984-298-4 http://porcupinesquill.ca/bookinfo4f.php?index=220
- The Essential Richard Outram, Amanda Jernigan, ed., Erin, Ont.: Porcupine's Quill, 2011. ISBN 978-0-88984-338-7 http://porcupinesquill.ca/bookinfo3.php?index=260
Prose
- An Exercise in Exegesis. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1991.
- Corrections to the Cave. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1992.
- Peripatetics. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1994.
- "And Growes to Something of Great Constancie ...", being a SYZYGY. Toronto: Gauntlet Press, 1994.
- Divers Arrows. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1995.
- Swann: A Literary Mystery (a brief talk on Carol Shields' book of that title, and on the poems included therein. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1995.)
- Notes on William Blake's 'The Tyger. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1997.
- Stardust. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1998.
- Of Blockheads. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1999 & 2000.
- Arrows of Desire. Toronto: Hart House, 2000.
- Arrows of Desire. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 2001, (a revised version of the above).
- Rage & Outrage: Poetry & the Media. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 2002.
- Poetic Practice. Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 2003.http://www141.pair.com/gmurray/bookninjabackup/essays/nov_2003/outram.htm
Anthologies
- Christian Poetry in Canada, David A. Kent, ed., ECW Press, 1989. ISBN 1550220152
- Literature in English, W. H. New and W. E. Messenger, eds., Prentice Hall, Scarborough, ON, 1993. ISBN 0135347777
- In Fine Form: The Canadian Book of Form Poetry, Kate Braid & Sandy Shreve, eds., Polestar/Raincoast Books, Vancouver, BC, 2005. ISBN 1-55192-777-2
- Jailbreaks: 99 Canadian Sonnets, Zachariah Wells, ed., Biblioasis, Emeryville, ON, 2008. ISBN 978-1-897231-44-9
- Open Wide a Wilderness: Canadian Nature Poems, Nancy Holmes, ed., Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, ON, 2009. ISBN 1554580331
- Arc Poetry Annual 2010: Best of How Poems Work (2003-2008), Arc Poetry Society, Ottawa, ON, 2009. ISBN 0705-6397
- Modern Canadian Poets, Evan Jones & Todd Swift, eds., Carcanet Press, Manchester, England, 2010. ISBN 978-1-85754-938-6
Books
- Horne, Alan and Guy Upjohn, eds. Fine Printing: The Private Press in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild, 1995. Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, 18 April - 16 June, 1995. ISBN 0-7727-6015-2
- Sanger, Peter. ‘Her Kindled Shadow ..’: An Introduction to the Work of Richard Outram. Antigonish, N.S.: Antigonish Review, 2001; rev. ed., 2002. ISBN 0-920653-05-7
- Sanger, Peter. Through Darkling Air: The Poetry of Richard Outram. Gaspereau Press, Kentville, N.S., 2010. An extensive study of the life and work of Canadian poet Richard Outram with detailed analysis of his poetry, his influences and allusions, and his collaboration with his wife, Barbara Howard, on the limited edition broadsides and handmade books issued from the Gauntlet Press. Includes over 75 photographic reproductions. ISBN 9781554470617 http://www.gaspereau.com/1554470617.shtml
- Ruthig, Ingrid, ed. Richard Outram: Essays on His Works. Guernica Editions, Toronto, ON, 2011. New essays, interview, lecture, and elegy, by poets and writers who admire Outram’s commitment to “concision and precision” in language: Brian Bartlett, Michael Carbert, Robert Denham, Jeffery Donaldson, Steven Heighton, Amanda Jernigan, Eric Ormsby, Ingrid Ruthig, Peter Sanger, and Zachariah Wells. ISBN 9781550712803
Special issues and magazine features
- The Antigonish Review 125 (2001). A feature on Richard Outram’s work, comprising Peter Sanger’s ‘Richard Outram: A Preface’ and twenty poems by Outram. This feature was later revised and republished as Richard Outram: A Preface and Selection, with a (corrected) cover image by Barbara Howard (The Antigonish Review Occasional Paper Number 3; Antigonish, Nova Scotia, 2001).
- Canadian Notes & Queries 63 (2003). A special issue on the work of Richard Outram. Guest ed. Michael Carbert. Comprising: William Blissett, ‘Collecting Gauntlets’; Terry Griggs, ‘Wordman’; Amanda Jernigan, ‘Hiram on the Night Shore’; Guy Davenport, ‘Entropy’; W. J. Keith, ‘Outram’s “Stage Crew”’; David Solway, ‘Reading Richard Outram’; Caroline Adderson, ‘Mogul Recollected’; Michael Darling, ‘A Chance Encounter with Richard Outram’; Eric Ormsby, ‘Banjo Music’; Jeffery Donaldson, ‘Encounters and Recollections in the Art of Barbara Howard and Richard Outram’; Carmine Starnino, ‘The Other Outram’; Peter Sanger, ‘A Word Still Dwelling’.
- DA: A Journal of the Printing Arts 44 (1999). A special issue on the Gauntlet Press, guest ed. Alan Horne, comprising: Alan Horne, ‘Editorial’; Richard Outram, ‘A Brief History of Time at The Gauntlet Press (Or, Some Days the Earth Moved)’; Barbara Howard, ‘A Painter Pressed into the Service of Poetry’; Donald W. McLeod, ‘A Checklist of The Gauntlet Press, 1960-1995’.
- The New Quarterly 21.4 (2001/2002). A feature on Richard Outram’s work, comprising Peter Sanger’s introduction, ‘The Sounding Light: Richard Outram and Barbara Howard’, and four poems by Richard Outram.
- The New Quarterly 89 (2004): 25-73. Three Encounters with Poet Richard Outram, comprising: Amanda Jernigan, ‘Graceful Errors and Happy Intellections: Encounters with Richard Outram’; Michael Carbert, ‘Faith and Resilience: An Interview with Richard Outram’; Richard Outram, ‘Rage and Outrage: Poetry and the Media’.
Articles, interviews, reviews
(in alphabetical order)- Adamek, Anna. [Review of Benedict Abroad.] Arc 43 (1999): 95-96.
- Anderson, Rod. [Review of Man in Love.] Canadian Literature (1986): 148-50.
- Camlot, Jason. [Review of Benedict Abroad.] Journal of Canadian Poetry 15 (1998): 134-39.
- Cardy, Michael. [Review of Hiram and Jenny.] Canadian Author & Bookman 64.4 (1989): 16.
- Connolly, Kevin. ‘Penchant for odd syntax and ear for dialects ...’(review of Hiram and Jenny). Toronto Star (Toronto Star Magazine) 27 Apr. 1988: M6.
- de Santana, Hubert. 'Monarch in Mufti: Some Notes on Richard Outram, a Canadian Poet Whose Fame is Assured—at least Posthumously', Books in Canada, September (1976).
- Donaldson, Jeffery. ‘A Light Blaze in Rare Air: Richard Outram’. Books in Canada 32.7 (2003): 36.http://www.booksincanada.com/article_view.asp?id=3742
- Enright, Michael. 'Richard Outram: A Passion for Poetry'. (52 min. interview with Outram). The Sunday Edition. CBC Radio One. 7 April 2002. Replayed in part 30 January 2005, as part of a memorial feature. Listen online: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/gauntlet&CISOPTR=356
- Fitzgerald, Heather. [Review of Dove Legend.] Quill & Quire 67.3 (2001): 56.
- Hatch, Ronald B. ‘Poetry.’ University of Toronto Quarterly 56.1 (1986): 29-45. ‘Letters in Canada 1985’ poetry survey; includes a review of Man in Love.
- Howley, Martin J.S. 'The Gauntlet Press's Original Emblem'. DA: A Journal of the Printing Arts 65 (2010): 87-91.
- Hunter, Catherine. [Review of Mogul Recollected.] Prairie Fire 16.2 (1995): 149.
- Ingham, David. [Review of Hiram and Jenny.] Canadian Literature 129 (1991): 187-88.
- Jernigan, Amanda. ‘Holding to Desire: Verse Translations by Richard Outram’. Canadian Notes & Queries 73 (2008): 25-28. With fourteen previously unpublished verse translations.
- Kerr, Don. [Review of Hiram and Jenny.] Journal of Canadian Poetry. 5 (1990): 95-98.
- Kröller, Eva-Marie. [Review of Dove Legend and Other Poems]. Journal of Canadian Poetry 18 (2001) 118-20.
- MacKendrick, Louis K. ‘Richard Outram, Man in Love’. Journal of Canadian Poetry 2 (1985): 79-82.
- Manguel, Alberto. ‘Hard Truths’. Saturday Night 103.4 (1988): 57-59.
- ‘Outram, Richard (1930 - )’ (encyclopedia entry). Routledge Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. Ed. Eugene Benson and L. W. Connolly. London: Routledge, 1994.
- ‘Waiting for an Echo: On Reading Richard Outram’ (rev. and updated version of ‘Hard Truths’). Into the Looking-Glass Wood. Toronto: Knopf, 1998. 225-35. ISBN 0-676-97135-0
- McKinney, Louise. ‘Architects of the Poetic Landscape’. Quill and Quire 55.2 (1989): 25. Includes a review of Hiram and Jenny.
- Moore, Robert. ‘Poems for the Soul Reborn into an Age of “Stringent Myths”’ (review of Dove Legend). Books in Canada 31.6 (2002): 36-37.http://www.booksincanada.com/article_view.asp?id=1979
- Murray, George. 'Collecting Outram' (article on Benedict Abroad), Maisonneuve, 2 Dec. 2004.
- Rae, Ian. ‘Loving and Leaving’ Canadian Literature 180 (2004): 167-69. Includes a review of Dove Legend.
- Reibetanz, Julie. ‘Poetry.’ University of Toronto Quarterly 72.1 (2002/03): 207-55. ‘Letters in Canada 2001’ poetry survey; includes a review of Dove Legend.
- [Review of Mogul Recollected.] Matrix 43 (1994): 78-80.
- Roberts, Paul. [Review of Selected Poems 1960-1980], Books in Canada, June/July 1985, p.26-27
- Robertson, P. J. M. ‘Tragedy-inspired poems show visionary power’ (review of Mogul Recollected). Ottawa Citizen, 12 Feb. 1994: B8.
- Ruthig, Ingrid. [Review of South of North: Images of Canada], Northern Poetry Review (online), 23 Dec. 2008. http://www.northernpoetryreview.com/reviews/ingrid-ruthig/south-of-north.html
- Shedden, Lee. ‘Collections worth the read’ (includes review of Dove Legend). Calgary Herald 5 Feb. 2005: G5.
- Solway, David. ‘Reading Richard Outram.’ Director’s Cut. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine’s Quill, 2003. A version of his essay from Canadian Notes & Queries 63. ISBN 0-88984-272-8
- Starnino, Carmine. ‘The Other Outram’. A Lover’s Quarrel. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine’s Quill, 2004. A version of his essay from Canadian Notes & Queries 63. ISBN 0-88984-241-8
- Szumigalski, Anne. [Review of Mogul Recollected.] Arc 33 (1994): 77-78.
- Vulpé, Nicola. [Review of Selected Poems 1960-1980.] Journal of Canadian Poetry 1 (1986): 88-91.
- Wells, Zachariah. [Review of South of North: Images of Canada.] Arc 60 (2008): 135.
Obituaries and memorial poems
- Black, J. D. ‘For Richard Outram’ (poem). Black Velvet Elvis. Erin, Ont.: Porcupine’s Quill, 2006. 39. ISBN 0-88984-277-9
- Clifford, Wayne. ‘In Memoriam: Richard Outram’ (poem). DA: A Journal of the Printing Arts 56 (2005): 44.
- Donaldson, Jeffery. 'LET'. For Richard Outram, in memoriam (poem). Palilalia. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008. p.73 ISBN 0773533834
- Dunphy, Catherine. ‘A poet voiceless without his muse’. Toronto Star 21 Feb. 2005: B5.http://www.thestar.com/Obituary/NtoS/article/108001
- Heighton, Steven. ‘Outram Lake’ (poem). The New Quarterly 105 (2008): 10-11.
- Martin, Sandra. ‘Richard Outram, Poet (1930-2005).’ The Globe and Mail 1 Feb. 2005: R5. http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20050201.OBOUTRAM01/BDAStory/BDA/deaths
- Murray, George. ‘Go’ (poem). The Rush to Here: Poems. Gibsons, B.C.: Nightwood, 2007. 73. ISBN 0-88971-229-8
- Sanger, Peter. ‘Walking in Snow’ (poem). Aiken Drum. Kentville, N.S.: Gaspereau, 2006. 76. ISBN 1554470145
- Zitner, S. P. ‘In Memory of Richard Outram’ (poem). The Hunt on the Lagoon. Fredericton, N.B.: Goose Lane, 2005. 92. ISBN 9780864924469
Public collections of the Gauntlet Press
- Library and Archives CanadaLibrary and Archives CanadaLibrary and Archives Canada is a national memory institution dedicated to providing the best possible account of Canadian life through acquiring, preserving and making Canada's documentary heritage accessible for use in the 21st century and beyond...
(formerly the National Library of Canada), Ottawa - The Thomas Fisher Rare Book LibraryThomas Fisher Rare Book LibraryThe Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition to institutional records, also contains the papers...
, University of Toronto - Memorial University of Newfoundland Libraries, Rare Books Collection
- Bruce Peel Special Collections Library, University of Alberta
- The University of British Columbia LibraryUniversity of British Columbia LibraryThe University of British Columbia Library is the library system of the University of British Columbia . In 2004, UBC Library ranked 22nd among members of the Association of Research Libraries....
- University of Western OntarioUniversity of Western OntarioThe University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
, London, Ontario - The MILLS Research Collections, McMaster UniversityMcMaster UniversityMcMaster 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...
, Hamilton, Ontario - The Trent UniversityTrent UniversityTrent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...
Archives, Peterborough, Ontario - The University of CalgaryUniversity of CalgaryThe University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
, Alberta, Special Collections - The Berg Collection, New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
- The Harris Collection of Poetry and Plays, Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Providence, Rhode Island - The Library of Congress, Washington, DC
- University at BuffaloUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
, New York, Special Collections - The Houghton LibraryHoughton LibraryHoughton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts - Bodleian LibraryBodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford, England - The British LibraryBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, London, England
External links
- Website dedicated to the Gauntlet Press of Richard Outram and Barbara Howard
- 'Richard Outram: A Passion for Poetry'. (52 min. interview with Outram)
- A Brief History of Time at The Gauntlet Press (Or, Some Days the Earth Moved)
- Eight poems by Richard Outram
- How Poems Work: Richard Outram's poem "Story"
- How Poems Work: Richard Outram's poem "Barbed Wire"
- Three poems by Richard Outram
- About a Poem: Caroline Adderson on Richard Outram’s “Mogul’s Eye”
- Literary Landmarks: Richard Outram's house in Port Hope