Albert Frank Moritz (born April 15, 1947) is a United States-born Canadian poet, teacher, and scholar. Born in Niles, Ohio, Moritz was educated at Marquette University. Since 1975, he has made his home in Toronto, Ontario where he has worked variously as an advertising

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

and executive,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, publisher, and university professor. His poetry has been honored with a 1990

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

, inclusion in the

Princeton Series of Contemporary Poets Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

, and numerous other awards. He currently teaches at Victoria College in the University of Toronto."New poet laureate, A.F. Moritz, calls Toronto an ‘outstanding little city-state’"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', March 6, 2019. He was the winner of the ReLit Award for poetry in 2005 for ''Night Street Repairs'', the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2009 for ''The Sentinel'', and the

Raymond Souster Award The Raymond Souster Award is a Canadian literary award, presented by the League of Canadian Poets to a book judged as the best work of poetry by a Canadian poet in the previous year."Local poet wins national prize". ''Telegraph-Journal'', June 12, 2 ...

in 2013 for ''The New Measures''."A.F. Moritz, Gillian Savigny honoured by league". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...

'', June 15, 2013. He is a three-time nominee for the

Governor General's Award for English-language poetry This is a list of recipients and nominees of the Governor General's Awards award for English-language poetry. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama was divided.2000 Governor General's Awards The 2000 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were presented by Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, and Jean-Louis Roux, Chairman of the Canada Council for the Arts, on November 14 at Rideau Hall. English-language finalists F ...

for ''Rest on the Flight into Egypt'', at the

2008 Governor General's Awards The 2008 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (73 books) were announced October 21, winners announced November 18. The prize for writers and illustrators was $25,000 and "a specially bound copy of the winning bo ...

for ''The Sentinel'', and at the

2012 Governor General's Awards The shortlisted nominees for the 2012 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 11, and the winners were announced on November 13. English French References External linksGovernor General's Awards {{GovernorGener ...

for ''The New Measures''."'It's definitely a way to get noticed'; Finalists for GG Literary Awards announced". ''

'', October 3, 2012. In 2019, Moritz was named as the new

Poet Laureate of Toronto The Poet Laureate of Toronto is the city's literary ambassador and advocate for poetry, language and the arts. The poet laureate's mandate includes the creation of a legacy project that is unique to the individual. They also attend events across th ...

. In May 2019 the

Redpath Sugar Redpath Sugar Ltd. (french: Sucre Redpath Ltée) is a Canadian sugar refining company that was established in 1854 and the first refining cane sugar in Montreal, Quebec. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario (with an additional packaging plant in Bel ...

company decided to withdraw their invitation for Moritz to recite a new poem he had composed at a celebration of the 60th anniversary of their opening of the Redpath Sugar Refinery, on Toronto's waterfront. Passages in his poem reflected on the sugar industry's dark legacy of the use of slave labour. Moritz said he was not offended by Redpath rescinding his invitation, comparing the anniversary celebration to a wedding, where those organizing the event had an unquestionable right to control the event. He is married to Theresa Moritz, with whom he has collaborated on a number of books.

Bibliography

Poetry

*''Here'' – 1975 *''Signs and Certainties'' – 1979 *''Black Orchid'' – 1981 *''Between the Root and the Flower'' – 1982 *''The Visitation'' – 1983 *''The Tradition'' – 1986 *''Song of Fear'' – 1992 *''The Ruined Cottage'' – 1993 *''Ciudad interior'' – 1993 *''Phantoms in the Ark'' – 1994 (with

Ludwig Zeller Ludwig Zeller Ocampo (1927-2019) was a Chilean poet and surreal visual artist. He was born in 1927 in Rio Loa in northern Chile to an immigrant father who worked in mining. After gaining a reputation as an innovative avant-garde artist, he direc ...

) *''Mahoning'' – 1994 *''Early Poems'' *''Conflicting Desire'' *''The End of the Age'' *''A Houseboat on the Styx'' - 1998 *''Rest on the Flight into Egypt'' – 1999 *''Night Street Repairs'' (

House of Anansi Press House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anans ...

, 2004) *''The Sentinel'' (

, 2008) – winner of the 2009 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize) *''The New Measures'' - (

, 2012) *''Sequence'' - (

, 2015) *''The Sparrow'' (

, 2018) *''As Far As You Know'' (

, 2020)

Non-fiction

*''Canada Illustrated'' *''America the Picturesque'' *''The Pocket Canada: A Guidebook'' – 1982 *''Leacock: A Biography'' – 1985 (with Theresa Moritz) *''The Oxford Literary Guide to Canada'' – 1987 (with Theresa Moritz) *''The World's Most Dangerous Woman: A New Biography of Emma Goldman'' (with Theresa Moritz) *''Stephen Leacock: His Remarkable Life'' (with Theresa Moritz)

Translations

*''Children of the Quadrilateral: Selected Poems of Benjamin Péret'' *''Testament of Man: Selected Poems of Gilberto Meza'' *''Ludwig Zeller in the Country of the Antipodes: Poems 1964–1979'' *''The Marble Head and Other Poems'', by Ludwig Zeller *''The Ghost's Tattoos'', by Ludwig Zeller *''Body of Insomnia and Other Poems'', by Ludwig Zeller *''Rio Loa: Station of Dreams'', by Ludwig Zeller

References

External links

A. F. Moritz Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moritz, A.F. 1947 births Living people Canadian male poets Canadian literary critics People from Niles, Ohio Poets Laureate of Toronto American expatriate writers in Canada Canadian male non-fiction writers University of Toronto faculty 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers