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Best friends earn poetic honours
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November 13, 2002
Best friends earn poetic honours…They are best of friends whose poetic talents are being simultaneously propelled on a national scale. SFU professor emeritus George Bowering has been appointed Canada’s first poet laureate, while colleague Roy Miki is being honoured with a prestigious Governor-General literary award for his book of poetry, Surrender.
Becoming Canada’s first poet laureate is a little like crossing uncharted land, but Bowering is up for the journey. "We are all a little in the dark," says Bowering of his new post. "My role has really yet to be determined. I like that. It’s the way poetry should be; nothing is for certain when you set out to write it." Bowering, currently in Toronto, will learn more when he meets with parliamentary officials next week in Ottawa. Besides his new appointment, which comes with a $12,000 stipend and an office in Ottawa, Bowering is currently working a history of Canada and has just launched a new literary book called Cars, co-written with recent SFU graduate Ryan Knighton.
Bowering, who is 67, has twice won a Governor-General literary award, once for poetry and once for fiction. He has written nearly three dozen books of poetry, 10 novels and six plays. He will be back in Vancouver on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 20
While Bowering settles into his new role, his best friend, SFU English professor Roy Miki, will be honoured at a ceremony in Ottawa Nov. 19. Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson will present him with a $15,000 cash award and a specially bound copy of his book Surrender, which is described as a response to this century through political, intellectual and emotional word play. "I was completely stunned," says Miki, who has written half a dozen books and edited several others, noting that poets "even at the best of times, don’t often get a lot of attention." He adds: "When you think of poetry, you don’t think of big awards. Writing poetry is an end in itself, and it can be a highly personal act." A poet and teacher for three decades, Miki says the award is particularly sweet because it is culturally based, not driven by marketplace appeal. "It’s nice to see through these recent announcements that poetry coming out of the West Coast is being recognized," he adds.
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CONTACT
George Bowering, (cell phone) 905.788.4838
Roy Miki, 604.732.7215
Marianne Meadahl/Julie Ovenell-Carter, Media & PR 604.291.4323
Becoming Canada’s first poet laureate is a little like crossing uncharted land, but Bowering is up for the journey. "We are all a little in the dark," says Bowering of his new post. "My role has really yet to be determined. I like that. It’s the way poetry should be; nothing is for certain when you set out to write it." Bowering, currently in Toronto, will learn more when he meets with parliamentary officials next week in Ottawa. Besides his new appointment, which comes with a $12,000 stipend and an office in Ottawa, Bowering is currently working a history of Canada and has just launched a new literary book called Cars, co-written with recent SFU graduate Ryan Knighton.
Bowering, who is 67, has twice won a Governor-General literary award, once for poetry and once for fiction. He has written nearly three dozen books of poetry, 10 novels and six plays. He will be back in Vancouver on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 20
While Bowering settles into his new role, his best friend, SFU English professor Roy Miki, will be honoured at a ceremony in Ottawa Nov. 19. Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson will present him with a $15,000 cash award and a specially bound copy of his book Surrender, which is described as a response to this century through political, intellectual and emotional word play. "I was completely stunned," says Miki, who has written half a dozen books and edited several others, noting that poets "even at the best of times, don’t often get a lot of attention." He adds: "When you think of poetry, you don’t think of big awards. Writing poetry is an end in itself, and it can be a highly personal act." A poet and teacher for three decades, Miki says the award is particularly sweet because it is culturally based, not driven by marketplace appeal. "It’s nice to see through these recent announcements that poetry coming out of the West Coast is being recognized," he adds.
—30—
CONTACT
George Bowering, (cell phone) 905.788.4838
Roy Miki, 604.732.7215
Marianne Meadahl/Julie Ovenell-Carter, Media & PR 604.291.4323