John Barton (poet)
Encyclopedia
Life
John Barton was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1957 but was raised in CalgaryCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. He studied at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
, University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The 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...
, University of Quebec, Victoria University
Victoria University
Victoria University may refer to:* Victoria University, Australia, Melbourne, Australia* Victoria University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh* University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada...
, and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York.
He originally wanted to study architecture but did poorly in calculus and was enrolled in English courses in the Faculté Saint-Jean at the University of Alberta. He became a poet upon realization that there were fewer factors affecting his ability to excel in his chosen vocation.
In 1986, he graduated from the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The 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...
, with a Master of Library and Information Science. Also, Barton studied Book Editing at the Banff Publishing Centre in 1994.
Barton studied poetry with Eli Mandel
Eli Mandel
Eli Mandel was a Canadian poet, editor of many Canadian anthologies, and literary academic.-Biography:...
, Gary Geddes
Gary Geddes
-Biography:He spent four years of his childhood on the Canadian prairies, but otherwise remained on the west coast until 1963, where he got his Bachelor’s Degree in English and Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. Geddes received his M.A. and Ph.D. in English at the University of...
, Robin Skelton
Robin Skelton
Robin Skelton was a British-born academic, writer, poet, and anthologist.Born in Easington, Yorkshire, Skelton was educated at the University of Leeds and Cambridge University. From 1944 to 1947, he served with the Royal Air Force in India. He later taught at Manchester University...
, Joseph Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...
, and Daniel Halpern. Since 1980 his poems have appeared in seventy-five magazines and thirty anthologies in North America, the United Kingdom, India, and Australia.
Barton was co-editor of Arc poetry magazine, from 1990 to 1995. He edits The Malahat Review and is poetry editor for Winnipeg's Signature Editions. He co-founded the Poem of the Year Contest in 1996.
He was Writer-in-Residence at the Saskatoon Public Library. Additionally he worked as a librarian and editor for five museums in Ottawa. He has lived in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
since 2004.
Awards
- 1986 Patricia Hackett Prize, University of Western Australia
- 1988 Archibald Lampman Award, for West of Darkness: Emily Carr, a self-portrait
- 1995 Archibald Lampman Award, for Designs from the Interior
- 1995 Ottawa Book AwardOttawa Book AwardOttawa Book Award and Prix du livre d'Ottawa is a Canadian literary award presented by the City of Ottawa to the best English and French language books written in the previous year by a living author residing in Ottawa. There are 4 awards each year: English fiction and non-fiction ; French fiction...
- 1999 Archibald Lampman Award, for Sweet Ellipsis
- 2003 CBC Literary Award (Second Prize)
- 2006 National Magazine Award (Silver)
Poetry
Criticism
Reviews
Seminal: The Anthology of Canada’s Gay Male Poets is a terrific read. It showcases a wide array of talented works and an illuminating introduction. John Barton’s preface is a mini-thesis of Canadian poetic history blended with enlightening facts about being gay in Canada. It is described as comprehensive, educational and filled with interesting details.