Biography

Born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, in 1953, Brian Bartlett grew up in Fredericton. He did his B.A. at the University of New Brunwsick in Fredericton and then went on to do a Master's at Concordia and a Ph.D. at the Universite de Montreal. After living in Montreal for fifteen years, he moved back to the east coast to teach English and Creative Writing at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. His poetry has appeared in Canadian Literature, TickleAce, The New Quarterly, and Event. “Underwater Carpentry,” included in the collection Underwater Carpentry (1989), won the 1991 Malahat Review Long Poem Contest, while his collection Wanting the Day (2003) won the 2004 Atlantic Poetry Prize. He has also edited a collection called Don McKay: Essays on His Works (2006). Bartlett has said his work is influenced in part by Don Domanski, and he edited Earthly Pages: The Poetry of Don Domanski for Wilfrid Laurier University Press in 2007. As Kevin Bushell notes in The Antigonish Review (2004), the language of nature reminiscent of McKay is evident in The Afterlife of Trees (2002): “naturalist and birder, Bartlett’s keen attention to the world results in poems that celebrate its beauty and honour its mysteries.” Furthermore, Bushell suggests Bartlett be considered one of “Canada’s major poets.” Brian Bartlett has retired from teaching at Saint Mary's, where he received the 2010-2011 Father William A. Stewart, S.J., Medal for Excellence in Teaching award. HIs collection The Watchmaker's Table, was honoured with the 2009 Acorn-Plantos Award for People's Poetry.

Bibliography

  • Finches for the Wake. Fredericton: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1971.
  • Brother’s Insomnia. Fredericon: New Brunswick Chapbooks, 1972.
  • Cattail Week. Villeneuve Publications, 1981.
  • Planet Harbour. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 1989.
  • Underwater Carpentry. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 1993.
  • Granite Erratics. Ekstasis Editions, 1997.
  • The Afterlife of Trees. Montreal-Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002.
  • Wanting the Day: Selected Poems. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2003.
  • Travels of the Watch. Kentville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 2004.
  • The Watchmaker's Table. Fredericton: Goose Lane, 2008.
  • Don McKay: Essays on His Works (ed.) Toronto: Guernica, 2006.
  • Earthly Pages: The Poetry of Don Domanski (ed.) Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007.
Selected Overviews
Afterlife
Underwater Carpentry

Click on selected overview to read...

Critical Sources

  • Bushell, Kevin. Rev. of The Afterlife of Trees, by Brian Bartlett. The Antigonish Review 137 (Spring 2004): 113-8. [LINK]
  • Callanan, Mark. “A Loneliness Which Must be Entered.” Rev. of Wanting the Day: Selected Poems, by Brian Bartlett. Books in Canada 33.6 (September 2004): 32. [LINK]
  • Compton, Anne. “‘A Many-Veined Leaf’: Minutiae and Multiplicity in Brian Bartlett’s Poetry.” Studies in Canadian Literature 28.2 (2003): 131-51.
  • Laird, Darrell. “Artificial Paradise—Planet Harbour by Brian Bartlett / Amanuensis by Phil Hall / A Delicate Fire by Harold Rhenisch.” Rev. of Planet Harbour, by Brian Bartlett. Canadian Literature (Spring 1991): 189.
  • Lane, M. Travis. “Temporary Shelter.” Rev. of Underwater Carpentry, by Brian Bartlett. Quill & Quire 59.7 (July 1993): 48.
  • MacLeod, Alexander. “‘Having a Conversation With the Place You're In': Discussing the Past, Present and Future of Atlantic-Canadian Poetry with Brian Bartlett, Ross Leckie,
  • Lindsay Marshall and Anne Simpson.” Dalhousie Review 89.1 (2009): 25-37.
  • "Next Collection: A Poet Between Books." Event 27.1 (1998): 7-11.
  • Rev. of The Afterlife of Trees, by Brian Bartlett. ARC 49 (2002): 85-6.
  • Rev. of Granite Erratics, by Brian Bartlett. ARC 43 (1999): 90-1.
  • Rev. of Planet Harbour, by Brian Bartlett. Atlantic Advocate 80.2 (1989): 60.
  • Rev. of Planet Harbour, by Brian Bartlett. Books in Canada 19.1 (1990): 46-7. [LINK]
  • Rev. of Underwater Carpentry, by Brian Bartlett. Books in Canada 22.6 (September 1993): 53. [LINK]
  • Weston, Joanna M. Rev. of Wanting the Day: Selected Poems, by Brian Bartlett. The Danforth Review (2003) [LINK].