Joseph Rosenblatt (December 26, 1933 – March 11, 2019) was a Canadian poet who lived in

Qualicum Beach, British Columbia :''"Qualicum" re-directs here. For the neighbourhood in Ottawa, see Qualicum, Ottawa'' Qualicum Beach () is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the fo ...

. He won

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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 ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

's B.C. Book Prize for poetry.Joe Rosenblatt: Biography
" Canadian Poetry Online. Web, Mar. 19, 2011. He was also a talented

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

, whose "line drawings, paintings, and sketches often illustrate his own and other poets’ books of poetry."Heather Pyrcz,
The Experimental Poets
," A Digital History of Canadian Poetry, YoungPoets.ca, Web, Apr. 22, 2011.

Life and writing

The son of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrants from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, Rosenblatt was born and raised 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 Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, where he grew up in the city's

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...

area and attended Lansdowne Public School. Later he went to

Central Technical School Central Technical School (CTS or Central Tech) is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE). Central Tech ...

, but dropped out and worked in a variety of blue-collar jobs.Sharon Drache,
Rosenblatt, Joseph
" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 1887 In 1956 he became a laborer for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

.Joe Rosenblatt
," QualicumFrameworksGallery.ca, Web, Apr. 22, 2011. A socialist, he became a

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

, joining the Socialist Education League in Toronto. He ran in the 1958 municipal election, for city council in Ward 1 (Riverdale), receiving 521 votes. He began seriously writing poetry in the early 1960s. "He became interested in writing through his association with the worker poet

Milton Acorn Milton James Rhode Acorn (March 30, 1923 – August 20, 1986), nicknamed ''The People's Poet'' by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. Early life He was born in Prince Edward Island, and grew up in Charlottetown. He joined the ...

in the early sixties and the metaphysical poetry of

Gwendolyn MacEwen Gwendolyn Margaret MacEwen (1 September 1941 – 29 November 1987) was a Canadian poet and novelist.Gwendoly ...

." He "got his start with the help of other poets:

Al Purdy Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four b ...

and

Earle Birney Earle Alfred Birney (13 May 1904 – 3 September 1995) was a Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honour, for his poetry. Life Born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised on a farm in Eric ...

." His first book, ''The L.S.D. Leacock'', was published in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. In the same year he received a

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

grant that allowed him to quit his railway job and write full-time. Since then, in his 40-year career, "Rosenblatt has written more than 20 books of poetry, several autobiographical works and his poems have appeared in over thirty

anthologies In book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...

of Canadian poetry.... He has traveled widely giving readings of his poems in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, Canada and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

." ''

Books in Canada ''Books in Canada'' was a monthly magazine that reviewed Canadian literature, published in print form between 1971 and 2008. In its heyday it was the most influential literary magazine in Canada. Foundation One of the co-founders of ''Books in Ca ...

'' wrote of him in 1988 that, "street smart, water wise, heaven bent, Joe Rosenblatt is a talented man, fisher of gods, and a school in himself. He makes you feel things that are hard to touch: bee fur, tadpoles, and the human heart." Rosenblatt summed up his philosophy of writing in this way: :I write to escape hyper reality –

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

of man, elephants and fish – the death of the

ozone layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in rela ...

, the industrial of the earth – My affordable opiate is my Muse. It allows me to float into a dream state and create an escapist literature. Let the prose-fanciers, the dog people as opposed to poetic feline fancier – indulge in grim reality. The very thought of reality gives me hives. Rosenblatt died on March 11, 2019, shortly after advance reviews of his newest poetry collection ''Bite Me! Musings on Monsters and Mayhem'' began to appear in media.

Recognition

A 1976 book of selected poems, ''Top Soil'', won Rosenblatt 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 ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. A decade later, another book of selected poems, ''Poetry Hotel'', won him the B.C. Book Prize for Poetry (now the

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, established in 1986, is awarded annually to the best collection of poetry by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. One of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, the award was originally known as the B.C. Prize for Poetry. ...

) in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. "Rosenblatt has been

writer in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

at several Canadian universities, as well as the University of Rome and the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

." "Several bilingual volumes of his poetry have been published in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

with translations by Prof. Alfredo Rizzardi of the

, and Ada Donati of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

" (one being a book of his sea

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

s, ''A Tentacled Mother''). "His poems have also been ... translated into French,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Publications

Poetry

* ''The LSD Leacock''. Toronto: Coach House Press,

. * ''Winter of the Luna Moth''. House of Anansi, Toronto,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

* ''Bumblebee Dithyramb''. Press Porcepic, Erin

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

* ''Blind Photographer''. Press Porcepic, Erin,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

* ''Dream Craters''. Press Porcepic, Erin,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

* ''Virgins & Vampires''. McClelland & Stewart, Toronto,

* ''Top Soil, Selected Poems (1962–1975)''. Press Porcepic, Erin,

* ''Loosely Tied Hands''. Black Moss Press, Windsor,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

* ''The Sleeping Lady''. Exile Editions, Toronto,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

* ''Brides of the Stream''. Oolichan Books, Lantzville, B.C.,

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

* ''Poetry Hotel, Selected Poems (1963-1985)''. McClelland & Stewart, Toronto,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

* ''A Tentacled Mother''. (in the original plus new sonnets) Exile Editions, Toronto, Oct.

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

* ''The Rosenblatt Reader''. (selected poems and prose, 1962–1995) Exile Editions, Toronto,

. * ''The Voluptuous Gardener''. (new poetry and selected drawings from Carleton University Art Gallery permanent collection) Beach Holme Press, Vancouver,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. * ''Parrot fever''. collages by Michel Christensen. Toronto: Exile Editions,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. * ''The lunatic muse'', Joe Rosenblatt ; edited by David Berry. Toronto: Exile Editions,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. * ''Dog'', Joe Rosenblatt & Catherine Owen ; photos by Karen Moe. Toronto: Mansfield Press,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. * ''Bite Me! Musings on Monsters and Mayhem', The Porcupine's Quill, 2019.

Fiction

* ''Tommy Fry & the Ant Colony''. Black Moss, Windsor, 1970 * ''Escape From the Glue Factory''. (autobiographical fiction) Exile Editions, Toronto, 1985 * ''The Kissing Goldfish of Siam''. (autobiographical fiction) Exile Editions, Toronto, 1989 * ''Beds & Consenting Dreamers''. (an experimental novel) Oolichan Books, Lantzville, B.C. 1994 ''Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesy University of Toronto.''Joe Rosenblatt: Publications
" Canadian Poetry Online. Web, Mar. 22, 2011.

References

External links

Canadian Poetry Online
Joe Rosenblatt - Biography, 5 poems (A Blushing Ague, The Boys Are Stepping Out Tonight, My Little Messenger, Combustion, Padding Through the Pampas Grass), and 20 drawings/illustrations. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenblatt, Joe 1933 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters Governor General's Award-winning poets Artists from Toronto Writers from Toronto Sonneteers 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian Trotskyists Jewish Canadian writers Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent