Barry McKinnon

by George J. Dance

Barry McKinnon. Courtesy ABC Bookworld.

Barry Benjamin McKinnon (born 1944) is a Canadian poet and academic.

Life

McKinnon was born amd grew up Calgary, Alberta.

He attended Mount Royal College in Montreal from 1963 to 1965, when he transferred to Montreal's Sir George Williams University (where he studied under Irving Layton). He earned a B.A. from Sir George Williams in 1967, and an M.A. from the University of British Columbia in 1969.

In 1969 he was hired by the College of New Caledonia in Prince George, British Columbia, where he has taught English since, and where he also operates Gorse Press. He founded and edited the New Caledonia Writing Series, an important forum for B.C. poets, in the 1970s.

Recognition

• Governor General's Literary Award, 1981 (finalist) The The
• Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, 1992. Pulplog
• bp Nichol Chapbook Award, 1994. Arrythmia
• bp Nichol Chapbook Award, 2004. Bolivia/Peru

Publications

• The Golden Daybreak Hair. Toronto: Aliquondo Press, 1967.
• Cat. Toronto: Ganglia Press, 1970.
• The Carcasses of Spring. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1971.
• Stamp collection. Vancouver: Blewointmentpress, 1973.
• The Death of a Lyric Poet: Poems and drafts. Prince George, BC: Caledonia Writing Series, 1975.
• Sex at Thirty One: A poem. Prince George, BC: Caledonia Writing Series, 1977.
• Birch: for Bill Bailey. Prince George, BC: Caledonia Writing Series, 1978.
• Birth. Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 1979.
• A Draft: For John Harris. Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 1979.
• The Organizer. Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 1979.
• The (Fragments). Prince George, BC: Repository / Gorse Press, 1979.
• The The. Toronto, ON: Coach House, 1980.
• Sex at Thirty Eight: A duet (with Brian Fawcett). Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 1984.
• Thoughts / Sketches. North Vancouver, BC: Tatlow / Gorse, 1985.
• Centre: An improvisation. Burnaby, BC: Line 1985.
• The Petting Zoo. Madeira Park, BC: High Ground Press, 1987.
• I Wanted to Say Something. Red Deer, AB: Red Deer College Press, 1990.
• Pulp Log. Prince George, BC: Caitlin Press, 1991.
• Four Realities: Poets of northern B.C. (by Barbara Munk, George Stanley, Barry McKinnon & Ken Belford). Prince George, BC: Caitlin Press, 1992.
• Arrythmia. Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 1994.
• The Centre. Prince George, BC: Caitlin Press, 1995.
• It Can't Be Said. Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 2001.
• Bolivia/Peru (chapbook). Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 2003.
• The Centre: Poems, 1970-2000. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2004.
• Collected Sex. Ottawa: Chaudiere Books, 2007.
• In the Millennium. New Star, 2009. ISBN 978-1-5542-047-4
• Into the Blind World. Ottawa: above/ground press, 2012.

Non-fiction

• Poets and Print: Barry McKinnon talks with 10 British Columbia poet/publishers. Toronto: Open Letter, 1988.
• The Caledonia Writing Series: A chronicle. Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 1989.

Edited

• The Pulp Mill: An anthology of poems, Prince George, BC, 1969-1979. Prince George, BC: Repository, 1979.
• The Pulp Mill: A collection of local short stories (edited with John Harris). Prince George, BC: Repository, 1980.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

See also

Cascadia Poetry Festival Reading Barry McKinnon

• List of Canadian poets
• List of Canadian book publishers

References

Fonds

• Barry McKinnon fonds at Northern B.C. Archives
• Barry McKinnon fonds at Simon Fraser University

External links

Poems

• Poems from Arrhythmia at The East Village Poetry Web

Books

• Barry McKinnon at Amazon.ca

About

• McKinnon, Barry at ABC Bookworld
• Barry McKinnon interview, 2015

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