Brian Henderson (born 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, and photographer, whose book of poetry ''Nerve Language'' was shortlisted for the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for Poetry in 2007.

Biography

Henderson, born in 1948 in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

, has a PhD in

Canadian Literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both ge ...

from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. Henderson has worked as a university instructor, a phone jack installer, a

traffic counter A traffic count is a count of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, which is conducted along a particular road, path, or intersection. A traffic count is commonly undertaken either automatically (with the installation of a temporary or permanent ele ...

, a

shipper shipper may refer to: *Someone who provides or sends goods for shipment, by packaging, labeling, and arranging for transit, or who coordinates the transport of goods *Shipping (fandom) Shipping (derived from the word '' relationship'') is the des ...

/ receiver, and a rock

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

. He is the author of thirteen collections of poetry including ''The Alphamiricon'', a deck of visual poem-cards. His work has been published in many small

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s. In the 1970s Henderson was a founding

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 ...

of ''

RUNE Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...

''. He was the director of

Wilfrid Laurier University Press Wilfrid Laurier University Press, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a publisher of scholarly writing and is part of Wilfrid Laurier University. The fourth-largest university press in Canada, WLUP publishes work in a variety of disciplines in the hum ...

from 2005-2016.

Literary activities

His poetry and

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

has appeared in

Arc Poetry Magazine ''Arc Poetry Magazine'' is a triannual literary magazine established in 1978, publishing poetry and prose about poetry. History ''Arc'' was started in 1978 by Carleton University professors Christopher Levenson, Michael Gnarowski and Tom Henigh ...

, Antigonish Review,

Canadian Forum The ''Canadian Forum'' was a literary, cultural and political publication and Canada's longest running continually published political magazine (1920–2000). History and profile ''Canadian Forum'' was founded on 14 May 1920 at the University of T ...

, CVII,

Descant A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states: A descant is a ...

, ECW,

The Fiddlehead ''The Fiddlehead'' is a Canadian literary magazine, published four times annually at the University of New Brunswick. It is the oldest Canadian literary magazine which is still in circulation. History and profile ''The Fiddlehead'' was establis ...

, Prism, Quarry, Rampike, RUNE (of which he was a founding editor for its decade of existence), Scrivener, Writ and many other literary journals since 1974.

Awards

Nominations

* Governor General's Award for Poetry, 2007, finalist (for ''Nerve Language'') * Canadian Author’s Association Award for Poetry, 2012, finalist (for ''Sharawadji'') *

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 ...

, 2020, longlisted

Published works

Books: *''Unfinishing'', McGill-Queen's University Press, 2022 *''Unidentified Poetic Object'', Brick Books, 2019 *'' R', Talonbooks, 2014 *''Sharawadji'',

Brick Books A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

, 2011 *''Nerve Language'',

Pedlar Press Pedlar Press is an independent Canadian book publisher based in St. John's NL, specializing in contemporary works of poetry, prose and graphic novels, works that extend the tradition of literary experimentation. Pedlar Press was founded in 1996 b ...

, 2007 *''Light in Dark Objects'', Ekstasis Editions, 2000 *''Year Zero'', Brick Books, 1995 *''Smoking Mirror'',

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

, 1990 *''The Alphamiricon'', Underwhich Editions, 1987; available on Ubu.com/visual poetry *''Migration of Light'', General Publishing, 1983 *''The Veridical Book of the Silent Planet'', Aya Press, 1978 *''Paracelsus'', Porcupine's Quill, 1977 *''The Expanding Room'', Black Moss Press, 1977 Anthologies: *W.H. New, ed., Inside the Poem,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1992 *Robert Allen, ed., The Lyric Paragraph, D.C. Books, 1987 *Leslie Nutting, ed., The Toronto Collection, Manoeuvers Press, 1984 *Ken Norris, Twenty Canadian Poets of the Eighties,

Anansi Anansi ( ; literally translates to ''spider'') is an Akan folktale character and the Akan God of Stories, Wisdom, Knowledge, and possibly creation. The form of a spider is the most common depiction of Anansi. He is also, sometimes considered to ...

, 1984

External links

Official websiteAuthor page at Brick Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Brian 1948 births Living people 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets Canadian photographers York University alumni 21st-century Canadian poets Writers from Kitchener, Ontario 21st-century Canadian male writers