Category: Author

British modernist poet, Basil Bunting (1900-1985), was born in Scotswood-on-Tyne, Northumberland, and passed away in Hexham, Northumberland. His life overlapped with both World Wars. He was drafted during World War I and subsequently imprisoned for being a conscientious objector. During World War II, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and worked for the British Intelligence as a translator in Persia (now Iran), staying on well beyond the tenure of his appointment. Despite numerous collections, Bunting’s autobiographical long poem, Briggflats (1966)—with references to medieval literary subject matter and style—is his most influential book of poetry. It exemplifies his lifelong interest in the sound of poetry and comes to life when read out loud. Bunting’s friendship with Peter Quartermain brought him to Vancouver in 1970 and 1984. Quartermain’s biography, Basil Bunting: Poet of the North, remains the authoritative study of Bunting’s life.

Robert Creeley (1926-2005) was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, and passed away in Odessa, Texas. As an important figure in twentieth-century American literature, he is well known for his association with the Black Mountain Poets, his professional friendships with William Carlos Williams and Charles Olson, and is celebrated for his influential poetic merging of concision and minimalism with robust affective momentum. His equal impact on Canadian poetry can be traced through his appearances at the 1963 Vancouver Poetry Conference, the Sir George Williams poetry series, among other innovative and significant literary events of the time. Creeley is the author of over sixty books of poetry, prose, essays, and interviews. He was also an editor and professor at various institutions, including the University at Buffalo, Brown University, and a temporary appointment at the University of British Columbia in 1962. Creeley was the recipient of several honours, including the prestigious Bollingen Prize for achievement in American poetry, awarded in 1999.