Brian Bartlett

Brian Bartlett (born October 1, 1953) is a Canadian poet, essayist, nature writer, and editor. He has published 16 books or chapbooks of poetry, three prose books of nature writing, and a compilation of prose about poetry. He was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, and lived in Fredericton from 1957 to 1975. While a high-school student and an undergraduate he attended the informal writers workshop the Ice House (a.k.a. McCord Hall or Tuesday Night); there and elsewhere he benefited from the generosity and friendship of writers such as Nancy and William Bauer, Robert Gibbs, Alden Nowlan, A.G. Bailey, Kent Thompson, Fred Cogswell, David Adams Richards, and Michael Pacey. After completing his B.A. at the University of New Brunswick, including an Honours thesis entitled "Dialogue as Form and Device in the Poetry of W.B. Yeats," Bartlett moved to Montreal Quebec, and stayed there for 15 years. He completed an M.A. from Concordia University, with a short-story-collection thesis (advisor: Clark Blaise), and a PhD at Université de Montréal (dissertation: "Speech and Address in the Poetry of A.R. Ammons"). In 1990 he relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia to teach Creative Writing and English at Saint Mary's University.[1][2][3]

During his final dozen years of teaching, Bartlett edited several other poets' works, including a compilation of essays about Don McKay and Collected Poems of Alden Nowlan. After nearly three decades at Saint Mary's, Bartlett retired from teaching in 2018. He had guided workshops in several genres (poetry, fiction, non-fiction prose), as well as courses in many fields of literature. He also oversaw the Saint Mary's Reading Series. A long-time admirer of Thoreau, Bartlett has given presentations at Thoreau conferences in Concord, Massachusetts; Gothenburg, Sweden; and Reykholt, Iceland. Bartlett's continues to writes poetry and prose. His wife, Karen Dahl (b. 1963), was a Senior Manager for the Halifax Regional Library system; their children are Josh (b. 1997) and Laura (b. 2000).

Publications

Poetry

  • Finches for the Wake. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead, 1971.
  • Brother's Insomnia. Fredericton, NB: The New Brunswick Chapbooks, 1972.
  • Cattail Week. Montreal: Villeneuve, 1981.
  • Planet Harbor. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 1989.
  • Underwater Carpentry. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 1993
  • Granite Erratics. Victoria: Ekstasis, 1997.
  • The Afterlife of Trees. Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's UP, 2002.[4]
  • Wanting the Day: Selected Poems. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2003; Calstock, Cornwall, UK: Peterloo Poets, 2004.[5]
  • Travels of the Watch. Kentville: Gaspereau, 2004.[6]
  • The Watchmaker's Table. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2008.[7]
  • Being Charlie. Vancouver, BC: Alfred Gustav, 2009.
  • Potato Blossom Road: Seven Montages. Victoria: Ekstasis, 2013.[8]
  • Keatonesque. Kingston, ON: Thee Hellbox Press, 2017.
  • Safety Last. Kentville: Gaspereau, 2019.[9]
  • The Astonishing Room. Okotoks, Alberta: Frontenac House, 2024.

Prose

  • "Introduction." Charles G. D. Roberts, Red Fox. 1905. Halifax, NS: Formac, 2008.[10]
  • "'A Many-veined Leaf': Minutiae and Multiplicity in Brian Bartlett's Poetry." Interview. Anne Compton, Meetings with Maritime Poets: Interviews (Markham: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006).
  • Ringing Here & There: A Nature Calendar. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2014.[11]
  • All Manner of Tackle: Living with Poetry. Windsor, ON: Palimpsest Press, 2017.[12]
  • Branches Over Ripples: A Waterside Journal. Kentville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 2017.[13]
  • Daystart Songflight: A Morning Journal. East Lawrencetown, NS: Pottersfield Press, 2021.

Edited

  • Don McKay: Essays on His Works. Brian Bartlett ed. Toronto: Guernica, 2006.[14]
  • Earthly Pages: The Poetry of Don Domanski. Brian Bartlett ed. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2007.[15]
  • The Essential James Reaney. Brian Bartlett ed. Erin: Porcupine's Quill, 2009.[16]
  • The Essential Robert Gibbs. Brian Bartlett ed. Erin: Porcupine's Quill, 2012.[17]
  • The Child Alone. Brian Bartlett ed. With art work by Laura Bartlett. Victoria, BC: Frog Hollow Press, 2015.[18]
  • Collected Poems of Alden Nowlan. Brian Bartlett ed. Fredericton, NB: Icehouse Poetry, 2017.[19]
  • The Essential Dorothy Roberts. Brian Bartlett ed. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 2018.[20]
  • Bright with Invisible History: A William Bauer Reader. Brian Bartlett ed. Woodstock, NB: Chapel Street Editions, 2020.[21]
  • In Loving Riddles: Selected Poems of Joseph Sherman. Charlottetown: Acorn Press, 2024.

Awards

  • Winner of The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize 1992, for "Underwater Carpentry."
  • Winner of The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize 1999, for "Hawthornden Improvisations."
  • Winner of Petra Kenney International Poetry Prize 2001, for "Foot-doctor for the Homeless."
  • Shortlisted for Atlantic Poetry Prize 2003, for The Afterlife of Trees.[22]
  • Winner of Atlantic Poetry Prize 2004, for Wanting the Day: Selected Poems.[23]
  • Winner of Acorn-Plantos Award for Poetry's Poetry 2008, for The Watchmaker's Table. 
  • Shortlisted for J. M. Abraham Prize for Poetry 2015, for Ringing Here & There: A Nature Calendar.

References

  1. ↑ "Brian Bartlett". Writers Federation of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  2. ↑ Tremblay, Tony; Johnson, James W.; Cogswell, Alexandra. "Brian Bartlett". New Brunswick Literature Curriculum in English. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  3. ↑ "Brian Bartlett". The Writers Union of Canada. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  4. ↑ The Afterlife of Trees.
  5. ↑ "Wanting the Day". Goose Lane Editions. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "Gaspereau Press - Travels of the Watch". www.gaspereau.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Watchmaker's Table". Goose Lane Editions. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Potato Blossom Road". www.ekstasiseditions.com. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Gaspereau Press - Safety Last". www.gaspereau.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "Formac - Red Fox". www.formac.ca. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ringing Here & There | Detail". www.fitzhenry.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "ALL MANNER OF TACKLE: LIVING WITH POETRY, Brian Bartlett". Palimpsest Press. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Gaspereau Press - Branches Over Ripples: A Waterside Journal". www.gaspereau.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Don McKay: Essays on His Works - Guernica Editions". www.guernicaeditions.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Earthly Pages.
  16. ↑ "The Essential James Reaney | Porcupine's Quill eBook Store". store.porcupinesquill.ca. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "The Porcupine's Quill | Book Listing | The Essential Robert Gibbs". www.porcupinesquill.ca. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Frog Hollow Press". www.froghollowpress.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Collected Poems of Alden Nowlan". Goose Lane Editions. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Porcupine's Quill | Book Listing | The Essential Dorothy Roberts". porcupinesquill.ca. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Bright with Invisible History | William Bauer". Chapel Street Editions. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "Frog Hollow Press". www.froghollowpress.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  23. ↑ "J. M. Abraham Poetry Award", Wikipedia, 13 February 2026, retrieved 18 April 2026
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