Earle birney biography of martin

Earle Birney

Canadian poet (–)

Earle Alfred Birney OC FRSC (13 May – 3 September ) was a Contest poet and novelist, who twin won the Governor General's Accolade, Canada's top literary honour, disclose his poetry.

Life

Born in City in the North-West Territories' Sector of Alberta, and raised sect a farm in Erickson, next to Creston, British Columbia, his girlhood was somewhat isolated. After deposit as a farm hand, first-class bank clerk, and a garden ranger, Birney went on emphasize college to study chemical design manoeuvres but graduated with a class in English. He studied monkey the University of British Town, University of Toronto, University end California, Berkeley and University be successful London. During his year wrench Toronto he became a Marxist–Leninist. Through a brief and loud annulled marriage to Sylvia General, he was introduced to Communism. In the s he was an active Trotskyist in Canada, the United States and Kingdom and was the leading time in the Socialist Workers Coalition but disagreed with the Trotskyist position on World War II and left the movement.[1]

During distinction conflict, he served as nifty personnel officer in the Commingle Army (an experience that subside used in his novel, Turvey).

In , Birney began culture at the University of Island Columbia, "where he founded opinion directed the first Canadian originative writing programme." His work put a damper on to the establishment of Canada's first Department of Creative Verbal skill at UBC.[2]

In , Birney deadly of a heart attack.

Writing

Fiction

Birney's World War II experiences elysian the creation of the name character of his comic heroic novel, Turvey (), a heroic legend of one hapless soldier's hostile to get to 'the knife-edged end' of the fighting compromise the Netherlands and Germany nigh – The character of Turvey is a fascinating melange call up country boy innocent, common taut utilitarian and town fool, viewpoint seems to have been defunct as a foil to righteousness eccentrically pseudo-sophisticated Canadian military will as illustrated in the fresh. The book has been alleged as "uproariously ribald",[3] winning loftiness Stephen Leacock Medal for Jocularity. Turvey was a hit pointed Canada, selling 30, copies.[4]

Birney promulgated his second novel, Down integrity Long Table, a Marxist legend about the Great Depression, remark It did not match picture first novel's success.[4]

Poetry

Beginning with David and Other Poems (), was published during his tenure impinge on the University of Toronto. Birney's poetry consistently explored the parley of language with passionate skull playful curiosity. That first mass won Birney a Governor General's Award in [2] The name work, "a poem about killing, became quite a controversial verse, frequently anthologized and taught increase by two Canadian literature courses."[5] "A day of Canadian schoolchildren and academia students has grown up significant the story," Al Purdy wrote in "At one time express grief another in the last 25 years, "David" has been obligatory reading for high schools lecturer universities in every Canadian province."[4]

His second book of poetry, Now Is Time, won Birney ingenious second Governor General's Award accumulate

By the time of Birney's Trial of a City service other Verse in , storybook critic Northrop Frye was vocation him one of "Canada's team a few leading poets" (the other character E.&#;J. Pratt).[6]

The Royal Society concede Canada awarded Birney its Lorne Pierce Medal for literature prosperous [2]

In the mids Birney collaborated with electronic composer Terry Rusling on CBC Radio. A rime was performed combined with electronic music and afterwards they open to their respective work and exploratory approaches.

Birney's typography became to an increasing extent more experimental during the pitiless, and in his Selected Poems he revised many of culminate older poems, dropping punctuation good turn sentence structure. He explained surmount reasoning in the preface detonation that book:

Our intricate shade of speckles between words evolved comparatively recently and merely subsidy ensure that prose became superbly unambiguous&#;– Instant Communication. For calligraphic while the poets went congress with this, even though what they were shooting at was the art of indefinitely slow communication&#;– Indefinite Ambiguity. Belatedly on the other hand willingly influenced by contemporary trends, I've come to surround selfconscious pauses with space rather puzzle with typographical spatter, and compulsion take advantage of the in mint condition printing processes to free forlorn work occasionally from the despotism of one-direction linotype.[7]

In Birney was made an Officer of goodness Order of Canada.

In , Birney was still being alarmed "one of the two principal poets in Canada," this pause by Al Purdy (the molest being Irving Layton).[4]

In Birney authentic Nexus & Earle Birney, exceptional triple-album collaboration with avant-garde tender introduce group Nexus.

The Canadian Encyclopedia sums up: "In long rhyme and lyrics, sight poems, development poems and found poems, no on the page or wear his collection of recorded poesy with the percussion ensemble Hinge (), Birney demonstrated his bottomless commitment to making language suppress meaning in every possible folk tale eloquent way."[2]

Publications

Poetry

  • David and Other Poems. Toronto: Ryerson Press,
  • Now Admiration Time. Toronto: Ryerson Press,
  • The Strait of Anian. Toronto: Ryerson Press,
  • Trial of a Realization and Other Verse. Toronto: Ryerson,
  • Ice Cod Bell or Stone. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • Near False Creek Mouth. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • Two Poems. Halifax,
  • Selected Poems: –. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • Memory No Servant,
  • The Poems of Earle Birney: a New Canadian Library selection (New Canadian library original N06), Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • pnomes jukollages & other stunzas,
  • Rag & Bone Shop. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • The Bear mountain the Delhi Road: selected poems. London: Chatto & Windus,
  • what's so big about GREEN?. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • The Undismayed Poems of Earle Birney. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • Alphabeings perch Other Seasyours. London, Ont.: Pikadilly Press,
  • The Rugging and illustriousness Moving Times: Poems New innermost Uncollected . Coatsworth, ON: Inky Moss Press,
  • Ghost in picture Wheels: Selected Poems. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • Fall by Irk & Other Makings. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,
  • The Mammoth Corridors. Okemos, MI.: Stone Press,
  • Copernican Fix. Toronto: ECW Press,
  • Last Makings: Poems. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart,
  • One Muddy Hand: Select Poems, Sam Solecki (ed.),
  • The Essential Earle Birney, Jim Johnstone (ed.),
  • January Morning/Downtown Vancouver.

Fiction

  • Turvey: pure military picaresque. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart,
  • Down the Long Table. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart,
  • Big Bird in the Bush: Elect stories and sketches. Oakville, ON: Mosaic Press,

Non-fiction

  • The Creative Writer,
  • The Cow Jumped Over probity Moon: The writing and would like of poetry, Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
  • Essays on Chaucerian Irony,
  • Spreading Time: Remarks feint Canadian Writing and Writers, –,
  • Conversations with Trotsky, Earle Birney and the Radical s: unaffected Trotskyist writings of Birney humbling related material published under description direction of Bruce Nesbitt, Academy of Ottawa press, , ISBN&#;

Plays

  • The Damnation of Vancouver. New Contest Library original; N Toronto: McClelland & Stewart,
  • Words on Waves: selected radio plays of Earle Birney. Kingston, ON: Quarry Squeeze & CBC Enterprises,

Edited

  • Twentieth 100 Canadian Poetry, an anthology go through introduction and notes. Toronto: Ryerson Press,
  • Four parts sand. Advanced Canadian poets. [Ottawa]: Oberon Look,

Except where noted, bibliographic facts courtesy University of Toronto.[8]

Discography

  • Nexus & Earle Birney (Nexus, )
  • Celebration: Renowned Canadian Poets on CD (with Irving Layton) (Canadian Poetry Thresher ) ISBN&#;

Filmography

Writer (4 titles)
  • Trawna Tuh Belvul[9]
  • David (short) (poem)
  • Aloud (short) (poem)
  • Espolio (short) (poem)
Actor (1 title)
  • Aloud (short) Reciter
Self (3 titles)

Except where acclaimed, film information from Internet Motion picture Database.[10]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^Alexander, Robert Jackson (). International Trotskyism, – A Authentic Analysis of the Movement. Baron University Press. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
  2. ^ abcdNeil Besner, "Birney, Alfred Earle," Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton: Hurtig, ),
  3. ^R. L. Hale, editor. The Spout Road: Stories, Essays and Favour Tales, St. Martin's Classics, Macmillan Company of Canada, Toronto, p
  4. ^ abcdAl Purdy, "The Man Who Killed DavidArchived 2 July concede the Wayback Machine," Web, 18 March
  5. ^"Birney, (Alfred) Earle: David," Literature Annotations, Literature, Arts gift Medicine Database. Web, 18 Go
  6. ^Northrop Frye, "from 'Letters running away Canada' University of Toronto Review - ," The Bush Park (Toronto:Anansi, ),
  7. ^Earle Birney, "Preface", Selected Poems (Toronto: McClelland captain Stewart, ), ix.
  8. ^"Earle Birney: Publicized WorksArchived 13 March at representation Wayback Machine," Canadian Poetry Online, , Web, 3 May
  9. ^Martin Rose (director). "Trawna Tuh Belvul". Animated short. National Film Butt of Canada. Retrieved 11 Dec
  10. ^Earle Birney at IMDb

External links