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Robert Priest in 2007. Photo by Joshua Sherurcij. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
| Robert Priest | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 10, 1951 |
| Occupation | Author |
| Genres | Children's literature |
Robert Priest (born July 10, 1951) is an English-born Canadian poet, children's author and singer/songwriter.
Life[]
Son of a navy officer and a member of the Wrens, Priest was born in Walton-on-Thames, England. He emigrated to Toronto with his family at the age of four. Growing up in suburban Scarborough, Ontario, Priest developed his love of literature from the fanciful stories his mother often told him before bedtime. By the age of 8, Priest had already begun to dream of becoming a writer.
In 1970, Priest entered the University of Waterloo to study mathematics but soon dropped out so that he could put all his energies towards poetry.
In 1979 he released his debut collection of poetry, entitled The Visible Man. He has since published 9 more books of poetry, 4 plays, a children's novel, and a hit song.
He is a rock singer of note, having released several albums and videos which came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. He has also performed his children's songs for Sesame Street. He has released his 4th CD of songs, Feeling the Pinch.
He lives in Toronto with Marsha Kirzner and is a regular contributor to Toronto's weekly magazine, Now.
He is the author of four plays, including The Coming, which was co-written with Leon Rooke.
He has often opined on CBC radio's hit spoken word show "Wordbeat" under the alias "Dr Poetry". In his alias as Dr. Poetry he wrote and performed 13 segments for CBC radio's spoken-word show Wordbeat.
Writing[]
His adult poetry is wide-ranging and much praised while his children's poetry is more tender, underpinned with a utopian hopefulness. Canadian novelist Barbara Gowdy has described him as "the voice of the people and the angels, entwined" and the Toronto star has called him "passionate, cocky, alternately adoring and insulting" Priest's plays, novels and songs, have earned him not only awards and recognition in Canadian literary circles but a growing reader/listenership world wide.
Recognition[]
Alannah Myles - Song Instead Of A Kiss
Priest won the Milton Acorn Memorial People's Poetry Award for The Mad Hand (1988).
As a songwriter, he co-wrote the international #1 hit, "Song Instead of a Kiss" for Alannah Myles.
His aphorisms have appeared in The Farmer's Almanac and Colombo's Canadian Quotations.
Priest's musical play Minibugs and Microchips received a Chalmer's Award.
His novel, Knights of the Endless Day (1993) received an Our Choice Award from the Canadian Children's Book Centre. Of his children's poetry, Daysongs Nightsongs and The Secret Invasion of Bananas, and other poems (2002) are on the CBC's recommended reading list.
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- The Visible Man. Toronto: Unfinished Monument Press, 1980.
- Sadness of Spacemen. Toronto: Dreadnaught Press, 1980.
- The Man Who Broke Out of the Letter X. Toronto: Coach House, 1984.
- The Three Roberts (with Robert Sward & Robert Zend). Scarborough, ON: HMS Press, 1984.[1]
- The Three Roberts: On love (with Robert Sward & Robert Zend). Dreadnaught Press, 1984.[1]
- The Three Roberts: On Childhood (with Robert Sward & Robert Zend). St. Catharines, ON: Moonstone Press, 1995.[1] ISBN 0-920259-07-3
- The Mad Hand. Toronto: Coach House, 1988.
- Scream Blue Living: New and selected poems. Stratford, ON: Mercury Press, 1992.
- Time Release Poems (collected aphorisms). Victoria, BC: Ekstasis Editions, 1997.
- Resurrection in the Cartoon. Toronto: ECW Press, 1997.
- Blue Pyramids : New and selected poems. Toronto: ECW Press, 2002.
- How to Swallow a Pig. Toronto: MisFit, 2004.
- Reading the Bible Backwards. Toronto: ECW Press, 2008.
Juvenile[]
- The Ruby Hat, and other poems (illustrated by Ross MacDonald). Toronto: Aya Press, 1987.
- Ten Big Babies. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1989.
- Day Songs, Night Songs (illustrated by Keith Lee). Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1993.
- A Terrible Case of the Stars (illustrated by Don Gauthier). Toronto: Penguin, 1994.
- The Secret Invasion of Bananas, and other poems. Victoria, BC: Ekstasis Editions, 2001.[2]
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the University of Toronto.[3]
Audio / video[]
Robert Priest "The Bomb in Reverse" - Champions' Cabaret 2010
Heart of a Poet Robert Priest
- The Robert Priest E.P. Airwave, 1982. (songs)
- Summerlong. G-tel, 1982. (children's music)
- Congo Toronto. Robot, 1986. (song poem)
- Broken Star. Major Label, 1987. (song poem)
- Playsongs and Lullabies, The Teds. Waterlily, 1989. (children's music)
- Rottweiler Pacifist. Toronto: Coach House / Music Gallery, 1990. (audiotape)
- Winterlong, The Teds. Waterlily, 1992. (songs & poems for children)
- Tongue 'n' Groove. Artisan, 1997. (spoken word CD)
Except where noted, discographical information courtesy the University of Toronto.[3]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Three Roberts: Priest, Ward, and Zend, RobertZend.ca. Web, Jan. 18, 2015.
- ↑ The secret invasion of bananas (paperback, Amazon.ca. Web, June 1, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Robert Priest: Publications, Canadian Poetry Online, University of Toronto Libraries. Web, June 1, 2013.
External links[]
- Poems
- "The Bomb in Reverse" lyrics from Feeling the Pinch
- Robert Priest at Canadian Poetry Online (profile & 6 poems)
- Sample poems for children
- Audio / video
- About
- Robert Priest at the League of Canadian Poets
- Robert Priest Official website
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