Stephen Collis 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 ...

poet and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

. Collis is the author of several books of poetry, including ''On the Material'' (Talonbooks, 2010) and three parts of the on-going “Barricades Project”: ''Anarchive'' (New Star, 2005), ''The Commons'' (Talonbooks, 2008, 2014), and ''To the Barricades'' (Talonbooks, 2013). He is also the author of three books of non-fiction: ''Almost Islands: Phyllis Webb and the Pursuit of the Unwritten '' (Talonbooks, 2018), ''Dispatches from the Occupation'' (Talonbooks, 2012), and ''Phyllis Webb and the Common Good'' (Talonbooks, 2007). In 2011, he won 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. ...

for the collection ''On the Material'' (Talonbooks, 2010)."Tsawwassen poet Stephen Collis wins B.C. Book Prize". ''Delta Optimist'', May 11, 2011. In 2019, he won the

Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize The Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize is a Canadian literary award. Presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada and the Latner Family Foundation, the award presents $25,000 annually to a Canadian poet who has published at least three collections, to ...

. He wrote ''Mine'' in 2001, ''Anarchive'' in 2005 and ''The Commons'' in 2008, and was previously shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Award in 2006 for ''Anarchive''. He teaches poetry and American literature at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

Works

Collis' collection ''The Commons'' (2008) draws on the history of English agrarian radicalism and the

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

of the

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

, including the work of

John Clare John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and sorrows at its disruption. His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20th ce ...

and

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

. The coda to the volume suggests that the

anti-globalization movement The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...

sought a return to the commons motivated by the

Zapatista Army of National Liberation The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (Mexican ), is a far-left political and militant group that controls a substantial amount of territory in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Sin ...

's communiqués from the

Lacandon Jungle The Lacandon Jungle (Spanish: ''Selva Lacandona'') is an area of rainforest which stretches from Chiapas, Mexico, into Guatemala. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Guate ...

. His work since 2008 has turned towards

environmental politics Environmental politics designate both the politics about the Natural environment, environment (see also environmental policy) and an academic field of study focused on three core components:Carter, Neil. 2007. ''The Politics of the Environment: Id ...

and practices of commoning among

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. ''Once in Blockadia'' (2016) includes work in opposition to the

Trans Mountain pipeline The Trans Mountain Pipeline System, or simply the Trans Mountain Pipeline, is a Pipeline transport, pipeline that carries Petroleum, crude and Petroleum product, refined oil from Alberta to the British Columbia Coast, coast of British Columbia, ...

and works placing

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

's work and the tradition of the sublime in connection with 21st-century forms of

extractivism Extractivism is the process of extracting natural resources from the Earth to sell on the world market. It exists in an economy that depends primarily on the extraction or removal of natural resources that are considered valuable for exportation w ...

and the photography of

Edward Burtynsky Edward Burtynsky (born February 22, 1955) is a Canadian photographer and artist known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. His works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of indust ...

. ''Once in Blockadia'' was shortlisted for the 2017 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness. Collis' poem "Golfing St. George's Hill with Sean Bonney" (2016) describes a visit with the poet

Sean Bonney Sean Noel Bonney (21 May 1969 – 13 November 2019) was an English poet born in Brighton and brought up in the north of England. He lived in London and, from 2015 up until the time of his death, in Berlin. He was married to the poet Frances Kru ...

to the golf course at

St George's Hill St George's Hill is a private gated community in Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom. The estate has golf and tennis clubs, as well as approximately 420 houses. Land ownership is divided between homes with gardens, belonging to home owners, and t ...

, which was the site of an occupation by the

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with agrarian socialism. Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard, amongst many others, were known as True Levellers in 1649, in reference to their split from ...

in 1649 and today is part of a

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

, and draws on the proclamation made there by

Gerrard Winstanley Gerrard Winstanley (19 October 1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer, political philosopher, and activist during the period of the Commonwealth of England. Winstanley was the leader and one of the founde ...

. Daniel Eltringham has argued that Collis' work, as well as that of Bonney and others, is part of a broader turn in 21st-century poetry to themes of commons and enclosure. ''A History of the Theories of Rain'' was a shortlisted finalist for the

Governor General's Award for English-language poetry This is a list of recipients and nominees of the Governor General's Awards award for English-language poetry. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama was divided.2021 Governor General's Awards The shortlisted nominees for the 2021 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 14, 2021, and the winners were announced on November 17."Ivan Coyote, David A. Robertson & Julie Flett among finalists for $25K Governor General's Literary Awards"

CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, October 14, 2021.

References

Canadian male poets Living people 21st-century Canadian poets Writers from British Columbia Academic staff of Simon Fraser University Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-poet-stub