- Henry Beissel
Henry Eric Beissel (born
12 April 1929 ) is a writer and editor who has published 16 volumes of poetry, six books of plays, a non-fiction book on Canada, two anthologies of plays intended for use in high schools, and numerous essays and pieces of short fiction. He first came to national attention with the controversial literary/political journal "Edge" (Edmonton , 1963 –Montreal 1969). Beissel's internationally successful "Inuk and the Sun" ("a mythic masterpiece", Sherrill Grace) premiered at theStratford Festival of Canada in 1973. This was followed by a U.S. premiere in 1977 at The Other Theatre in Chicago's Bernard Horwich Jewish Community Center with a musical score by Douglas L Lieberman. The Other Theatre also commissioned "Under Coyote's Eye" and performed it at theField Museum of Natural History . Beissel's work has been translated into many languages.Beissel had a long teaching career in English Literature, and later in Creative Writing, which started as a Teaching Fellow at the
University of Toronto . He taught at theUniversity of Munich (1960–62)), theUniversity of Alberta (1962–64), andConcordia University (1966–96), from which he retired as Distinguished Emeritus Professor of English.He lives with his wife, Arlette Francière, in
Ottawa .elected bibliography
*"New Wings for Icarus". Toronto: Coach House, 1966.
*"A Different Sun" (poems by Walter Bauer translated from the German). Ottawa: Oberon, 1976.
*"Inuk and the Sun". Toronto: Gage, 1980.
*"Under Coyote's Eye". Dunvegan, Ontario: Quadrant, 1980.
*"Improvisations for Mr. X & the Noose". Dunvegan, Ontario: Cormorant, 1989.
*"Kanada. Romantik und Wirklichkeit" (with photograps by Janis Kraulis). Innsbruck: Pinguin Verlag, 1981.
*"Cantos North". Moonbeam, Ontario: Penumbra, 1982.
*"Season of Blood". Toronto: Mosaic, 1984.
*"The Noose & Improvisations for Mister X". Dunvegan, Ontario: Cormorant, 1989.
*"Dying I was Born". Waterloo, Ontario: Penumbra, 1992.
*"Stones to Harvest". Gooderich, Ontario: Moonstone, 1993.
*"Across the Sun's Warp". Ottawa: BuschekBooks, 2003.Awards
Beissel has received several awards: the first was the Norma Epstein Award for Creative Writing in 1958 at University of Toronto, the last the Walter-Bauer Literaturpreis, Merseburg (Germany), 1994.
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