Michael John Estok (1939–1989) was 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 ...

poet.''Queer CanLit: Canadian, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Literature in English''.

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition ...

, 2008. . He was best known for his posthumous collection ''A Plague Year Journal'', considered one of the crucial works of

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

literature in Canada. John Barton and

Billeh Nickerson 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, grew up in Langley, British Columbia, lived in Toronto, Ontario, and currently ...

, eds. ''Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Male Poets''.

Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as und ...

, 2007. . Originally from

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Estok studied at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

."Deaths: Estok, Dr. Michael John". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', July 25, 1989. He taught

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

, the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

and

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

before joining the

Université Sainte-Anne Université Sainte-Anne is a French-language university in Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia, Canada. It and the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick are the only French-language universities in the Maritime Provinces. History It was founde ...

in Pointe-de-l'Église,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, where he taught for 18 years. He published his first poetry collection, ''Paradise Garage'', in 1987. He completed ''A Plague Year Journal'' shortly before his death of AIDS in 1989, and the work was published after his death by

. His poetry also appeared in ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. His poems "Ordination", "As the Crisis Deepened" and "Hydrangeas" appeared in John Barton and

's 2007 anthology ''Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Male Poets''. His poem "Let It Go" was recited in 2012 at The AIDS Quilt Songbook, a benefit concert in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

staged in conjunction with the

NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt or AIDS Quilt, is an enormous memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, it is the largest piece o ...

."“The AIDS Quilt Songbook” Celebrates a 20th Anniversary on World AIDS Day"
''New York Q News'', December 2012.

References

1939 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets Canadian gay writers Canadian LGBT poets AIDS-related deaths in Canada People from Moose Jaw Writers from Saskatchewan University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Toronto alumni Canadian people of Hungarian descent 20th-century Canadian LGBT people Gay poets {{Canada-poet-stub