Billeh Nickerson (born February 14, 1972) is a Canadian writer, editor, performer, producer and arts advocate.

Personal life

Nickerson was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, grew up in

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

, British Columbia, lived in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, and currently resides in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia. He earned an undergraduate degree in

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

and a master's degree in fine arts from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Writing and editing

In 2000, Nickerson published ''The Asthmatic Glassblower and other poems'' with Arsenal Pulp. It was nominated for the Publishing Triangle's

Thom Gunn Award The Thom Gunn Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour works of gay male poetry. First presented in 2001 as the Triangle Award for Gay Poetry, the award was renamed in memory of American poet Thom Gunn, the awa ...

. He is also the author of the humorous essay collection ''Let Me Kiss It Better: Elixirs for the Not So Straight and Narrow'' (Arsenal Pulp, 2002) and co-editor of ''Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Male Poets'' with John Barton (Arsenal Pulp, 2007). He was writer in residence at Berton House in

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

during July and August 2010. In 2009, he published ''McPoems''. He followed up in 2012 with ''Impact: The Titanic Poems'', a collection of poetry inspired by the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

''.

Brett Josef Grubisic Brett Josef Grubisic (born 1963) is a Canadian author, editor, and sessional lecturer of English at the University of British Columbia. Education He obtained his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Victoria (B.A., M.A.) and com ...

, "Impact". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', April 14, 2012. His most recent collection, ''Artificial Cherry'', was published in 2014. The book was a shortlisted finalist for the 2014

City of Vancouver Book Award The City of Vancouver Book Award is a Canadian literary award, that has been presented annually by the city of Vancouver, British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between th ...

. Nickerson is a founding member of the performance troupe ''Haiku Night in Canada''."Haiku Night in Canada: Say hello to 'Margaret Atwood and Don Cherry's love child'". ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'', September 24, 2006. He is also the past editor of the literary journals ''Event'' and ''Prism international''. He teaches creative writing at

Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public degree-granting undergraduate polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions by ...

Publications

* ''The Asthmatic Glassblower and other poems'' (Arsenal Pulp, 2000) * ''Let Me Kiss It Better: Elixirs for the Not So Straight and Narrow'' (Arsenal Pulp, 2002) * ''Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Men's Poetry'', co-edited by John Barton (Arsenal Pulp, 2007) * ''McPoems'' (Arsenal Pulp, 2009) * ''Impact: The Titanic Poems'' (2012) * ''Artificial Cherry'' (2014)

References

External links

"You Deserve A Haiku Today" ''See Magazine''
*
Billeh Nickerson – Arsenal Pulp Press
' *
Billeh Nickerson – Writers' Union of Canada
' *
Billeh Nickerson fonds at The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Nickerson, Billeh 1972 births Living people Canadian gay writers Writers from Vancouver 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian LGBT poets Writers from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canadian anthologists Canadian male essayists Canadian male poets 21st-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Gay poets