Robert Billings (1949 – 1986) 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 and editor.

Biography

Robert Billings was born in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

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 ...

and raised in

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of Ni ...

.. He held two master's degrees in English from Queen's University and the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...

. Billings became well known in Canadian literary circles as a poet, critic, teacher, and editor of Poetry Canada Review and Poetry Toronto. His poems and reviews of Canadian poetry have appeared widely in Canada,

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, 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 ...

. Suffering from depression after the breakdown of his marriage, Billings committed suicide at Niagara Falls in November of 1986. Efforts to find the body were halted once

Horseshoe Falls Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows ...

froze over, and the ice melted before his body was recovered six months later in June.

Literary activities

During the 1980s Robert Billings was editor for literary magazines such as ''Quarry'', ''Poetry Windsor'', ''Poesie'', ''Poetry Canada Review'' and ''Waves''. He was also very active as a poet.

Published works

* ''blue negatives'' Fiddlehead Poetry Books #212

Fred Cogswell Fred Cogswell CM (November 8, 1917 – June 20, 2004) was a Canadian poet. Life and career Born in East Centreville, New Brunswick he served overseas in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. A teacher at the age of sixteen, Cogswell gai ...

* ''The Elizabeth Trinities'' Penumbra Press, 1980 * ''The Revels'', Porcupine's Quil Inc., 1987

External links

Penumbra Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billings, Robert 1949 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets