Roo Borson. Courtesy Writers' Union of Canada.
Ruth Elizabeth "Roo" Borson (born January 20, 1952) is a Canadian poet.
Life[]
Borson was born and grew up in Berkeley, California.[1]
She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Goddard College, Vermont, in 1973.[2] In 1974 she moved to Vancouver, where she attended the University of British Columbia (UBC).[1] She earned an M.F.A. from UBC in 1977.[2]
She was writer in residence at the University of Western Ontario, 1987-1988, and at Concordia University in 1993.[2]
She lives in Toronto with poet Kim Maltman. With Maltman and Andy Patton she is a member of the collaborative performance poetry ensemble "Pain Not Bread."[2]
Writing[]
In 1998, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass called Borson “one of the best-known Canadian poets of her generation — a clear writer, clear-minded, with a dark and musical imagination."[3]
Recognition[]
She received the 2004 Governor General's Award for English language poetry and the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize for Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida.[2]
Awards[]
- Macmillan Poetry Prize (UBC), 1977
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Prize for Poetry, 1982 and 1989
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Prize for Personal Essay, 1991
- Governor General's Award Finalist, 1984 and 1994
- National Magazine Awards Finalist, 1990 and 1993
- Malahat Review Long Poem Prize (with Kim Maltman and Andy Patton, as "Pain Not Bread"), 1993
- National Magazine Awards Finalist ("Pain Not Bread"), 1993
Except where noted, award information courtesy University of Toronto[4]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Landfall. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1977.
- Rain. Moonbeam, ON: Penumbra Press, 1980.
- Nightwalk. Toronto: Missing Link Press, 1981.
- In the Smoky Light of the Fields. Toronto: Three Trees Press, 1980.
- A Sad Device. Dunvegan, ON: Quadrant Editions, 1981.
- The Whole Night, Coming Home. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1984.
- The Transparence of November: Snow. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1985.
- Intent; or, The weight of the world. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1989.
- Night Walk: Selected poems. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1994.
- Water Nemory. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1996.
- Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2004.
- Rain, Road, an Open Boat. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2012.
- Box Kite: Prose poems (with Kim Maltman, as "Baziju"). Toronto: Anansi, 2016.
- Cardinal in the Eastern White Cedar. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2017.
Non-fiction[]
- Introduction to the Introduction to 'Wang Wei' (by Pain Not Bread). London, ON: Brick Books, 2000.[5]
- Personal History (essays). Toronto: Pedlar Press, 2008.
Roo Borson at Type Books, Toronto
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[6]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Colin Boyd, Ruth Elizabeth Borson, Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, October 6, 2008. Web, Mar. 28, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Roo Borson, Canadian Poetry Online, Univerity of Toronto. Web, Mar. 28, 2017.
- ↑ "Roo Borson: A lifelong journey toward excellence," Writing and Publishing, Artist Stories, Canada Council for the Arts, Web, June 30, 2012.
- ↑ Roo Borson: Awards and Honours, Canadian Poetry Online, University of Toronto Libraries, UToronto.ca, Web, Mar. 28, 2017.
- ↑ Roo Borson: Publications, Canadian Poetry Online, University of Toronto Libraries, UToronto.ca, Web, June 30, 2012.
- ↑ Search results = au:Roo Borson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 10, 2014.
External links[]
- Poems
- "Summer Grass" (excerpt) at Representative Poetry Online
- Roo Borston at Canadian Poetry Online - profile and 6 poems ("Camouflage," "Ten Thousand," "Loyalties," "Summer's Drug," "Save Us From," "Leaving the Island")
- Audio / video
- About
- Roo Borson at the Banff Centre
- Roo Borson at Canadian Women Poets
- Griffin Poetry Prize biography
- Ruth Elizabeth Borson in the Canadian Encyclopedia
| Original Penny's Poetry Pages article, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0. |
- This is a signed article by User:George Dance. It may be edited for spelling errors or typos, but not for substantive content except by its author. If you have created a user name and verified your identity, provided you have set forth your credentials on your user page, you can add comments to the bottom of this article as peer review.
|