Robert Priest
Encyclopedia
Robert Priest is a British born Canadian
poet
and children's author. He has written numerous books of poetry, several children's novels, and has often appeared on CBC radio's hit spoken word show "Wordbeat" under the alias "Dr Poetry". He is well known for his aphorisms and performance poetry. His adult poetry has been categorized as surrealistic satire while his children's poetry is more tender, underpinned with a utopian hopefulness. Canadian novelist Barbara Gowdy has described him as "the voice of the people and the angels, entwined" and the Toronto star has called him "passionate, cocky, alternately adoring and insulting verse." Aside from poetry, Priest has also branched out over the years to write plays, novels and songs, many of which have earned him awards and recognition in Canadian literary circles.
. His aphorisms have already appeared in The Farmer's Almanac and Colombo's Canadian Quotations. He is the author of several plays, including The Coming, which was co-written with Leon Rooke
. Priest's musical play Minibugs and Microchips received a Chalmer's Award. His novel, Knights of the Endless Day (1993) received an Our Choice Award from the Canadian Children's Book Centre. And as for his children's poetry, Daysongs Nightsongs and The Secret Invasion of Bananas and Other Poems (2002) are on the CBC
's recommended reading list.
Children's Poetry and Fiction
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...
and children's author. He has written numerous books of poetry, several children's novels, and has often appeared on CBC radio's hit spoken word show "Wordbeat" under the alias "Dr Poetry". He is well known for his aphorisms and performance poetry. His adult poetry has been categorized as surrealistic satire while his children's poetry is more tender, underpinned with a utopian hopefulness. Canadian novelist Barbara Gowdy has described him as "the voice of the people and the angels, entwined" and the Toronto star has called him "passionate, cocky, alternately adoring and insulting verse." Aside from poetry, Priest has also branched out over the years to write plays, novels and songs, many of which have earned him awards and recognition in Canadian literary circles.
Biography
Son of a navy officer and a member of the rens, Robert Priest was born in England in 1951 and immigrated to Canada at the age of 4. Growing up in Scarborough, a Toronto suburb, Priest developed his love of literature from the fanciful stories his mother often told him before bedtime. By the age of 8, Priest had already begun to dream of becoming a writer. But it wasn't until after high school that he began to seriously consider writing professionally. In 1970, Priest entered the university of Waterloo to study mathematics but soon dropped out so that he could put all his energies towards poetry. He released his first book of poetry in 1979 entitled "the Visible Man". He has since published 13 books of poetry, several plays, a children's novel, and a hit song. He is currently preparing his second young-adult fantasy novel "The Paper Sword" set for release in 2010. He lives in Toronto with his wife and is a regular contributor to Toronto's weekly magazine "Now".Awards and recognitions
The author of fourteen books of poetry, he won the Milton Acorn Memorial People's Poetry Award for The Mad Hand (1988). In his alias as Dr. Poetry he wrote and performed thirteen segments for CBC radio's spoken-word show Wordbeat. As a songwriter, he co-wrote the international number one hit, "Song Instead of a Kiss" for Alannah MylesAlannah Myles
Alannah Myles is a Canadian singer-songwriter, the daughter of Canadian broadcast pioneer William Douglas Byles. In 1989, she released her eponymous debut album...
. His aphorisms have already appeared in The Farmer's Almanac and Colombo's Canadian Quotations. He is the author of several plays, including The Coming, which was co-written with Leon Rooke
Leon Rooke
Leon Rooke, CM is a Canadian novelist. He was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina in the United States. Educated at the University of North Carolina, he moved to Canada in 1969. He now lives in Toronto, Ontario....
. Priest's musical play Minibugs and Microchips received a Chalmer's Award. His novel, Knights of the Endless Day (1993) received an Our Choice Award from the Canadian Children's Book Centre. And as for his children's poetry, Daysongs Nightsongs and The Secret Invasion of Bananas and Other Poems (2002) are on the CBC
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...
's recommended reading list.
Selected bibliography
Adult poetry- The Visible Man (1980)
- Sadness of Spacemen (1980)
- The Man Who Broke Out of the Letter X (1984)
- The Three Roberts on Childhood (1984; Robert SwardRobert SwardRobert Sward is an American and Canadian poet and novelist. Jack Foley, in his Introduction to Sward's Collected Poems, 1957-2004 calls him, "in truth, a citizen, at heart, of both countries...
and Robert Zend) ISBN 0920259073 - The Ruby Hat (1987) ISBN 0920544479
- The Mad Hand (1988)
- Scream Blue Living (1992) ISBN 0920544924
- Resurrection in the Cartoon (1997) ISBN 1550223135
- Time Release Poems (1997)
- Blue Pyramids:New and Selected Poems (2002) ISBN 1550225545
- How to Swallow a Pig (2004) ISBN 1550226495
Children's Poetry and Fiction
- The Short Hockey Career of Amazing Jany (1986)
- Knights of the Endless Day (1993)
- A Terrible Case of the Stars (1994)
- The Secret Invasion of Bananas and Other Poems (2002) ISBN 1896860974