Chris Banks

Chris Banks (born 1970) is a Canadian poet.

Life
Banks' childhood was spent in the small Ontario towns of Stayner, Sioux Lookout, and Bancroft. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Guelph, before moving on to complete a Masters of Arts in Creative Writing from Concordia University and later a Bachelor of Education from the University of Western Ontario.

Works/Books
Banks' works include a chapbook, Form Letters (2002). His first full-length collection, Bonfires, was awarded the Jack Chalmers Award for poetry by the Canadian Authors' Association in 2004. Bonfires was also a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award for best first book of poetry in Canada. His most recent collection of poems Winter Cranes published by ECW Press appeared in the fall of 2011. His work has received positive reviews both in Canada and in the United States. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario, where he writes, and teaches at Bluevale Collegiate Institute.

Awards and recognition

 * 2004: Canadian Authors Association, winner of poetry award, 'Bonfires''
 * 2004: Finalist for Gerald Lampert Award for poetry, 'Bonfires''
 * 2006: Gowlings Literary Award

Publications

 * "Form Letters". Junction Books, 2002. (chapbook)
 * "Bonfires". Roberts Creek, BC: Nightwood Editions, 2003.
 * "Sparrows and Arrows". Emeryville, ON: Bilbioasis, 2006. (chapbook)
 * "The Cold Panes of Surfaces". Roberts Creek, BC: Nightwood Editions, 2006.
 * "Winter Cranes". Ottawa, ON: ECW Press, 2011.