Poet Details

George Swede

Born: November 20 1940 in Riga Latvia

Resides: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

E-mail: gswede (at) ryerson (dot) ca

Website: http://home.primus.ca/~swede/

George Swede, editor of Frogpond, The Journal of the Haiku Society of America, is one of the major forces in English-language haiku. Born in Latvia, he has lived in Canada since 1947. He studied at the University of British Columbia, graduating with a B.A. in Psychology in 1964. In 1965, he earned an M.A. at Dalhousie University. After a long and successful academic career, including serving as the Chair of the Department of Psychology and the School of Justice Studies at Ryerson Polytechnic University, Swede retired in 2006, becoming an Emeritus. In 2007, he was awarded an Honorary Life Membership by the Canadian Psychological Association. His contributions to the haiku community are some of the most important over the past several decades. A few examples include the following: he co-founded, with Eric Amann and Betty Drevniok, Haiku Canada in 1977. He was Guest Editor (for Alexis Rotella) for Brussels Sprout 5:2 (1988), a member of the editorial staff for Red Moon Press (2000-2008), and a columnist for Simply Haiku: A Quarterly Journal of Japanese Short Form Poetry (2005-2008). Other editorships include: for Poetry Toronto - Poetry Editor (1980-1981); and for Cross-Canada Writers' Quarterly - Children's Book Review Editor (1982-1985), Poetry Reviews Editor (1985-1986), and Poetry Editor (1986-1990). His haiku and essays have been translated into 20 languages: Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, Farsi, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Ukrainian. He has acted as judge for many haiku competitions, including the Japan Air Lines Haiku Contest for British Columbia School Children (1987); the Haiku Society of America's Harold G. Henderson Memorial Awards (1989 and 2007); the Japan Air Lines World Children's Haiku Contest (1990); the British Haiku Society's Museum of Haiku Literature Award (1996); the International Peoples Haiku Contest (Toronto, 1998); The Betty Drevniok Award (Haiku Canada, 2002); the World Haiku Club's First World Haiku Tournament (2002); the World Haiku Club's R.H. Blyth Award (2002); and the San Francisco International Haiku Senryu and Tanka Contest (2004).

Awards and Other Honors: A few of his awards and other honors include: Honorary Life Membership, Haiku Canada (2007); Associate, The Haiku Foundation (2008); Honorary Curator, American Haiku Archives (2008-2009); Fifth Annual High/Coo Press Mini-Chapbook Competition,1982 [Co-winner for All of Her Shadows, published in 1982, 28 pp.]; the Haiku Society of America's Museum of Haiku Literature Award (1983, 1985, and 1992 [shared with Alexis Rotella]); Japan Air Lines Award [ trip to Japan] (1990); First Prize, Free Style, Mainichi Daily News Haiku in English Contest (1993); Second Prize, Mainichi Daily News 125th Anniversary Haiku in English Contest (1997); Third Place, the Haiku Society of America's Harold G. Henderson Memorial Awards (1997); Japan Foundation Award [ trip to Japan] (1997); Second Prize, Mainichi Daily News Haiku in English Contest (2008). Many of his haiku have been selected for inclusion in prestigious anthologies, including Howard & Duhaime's Haiku: Anthologie Canadienne / Canadian Anthology (1985), van den Heuvel's The Haiku Anthology (the 1986 and 1999 editions), and Higginson's Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac (1996). In addition to publication in the major haiku journals, his work has also been honored in other magazines, newspapers, on television, and on radio, including: Asahi Shimbun, BBC3 Close to Silence, Bluenose Magazine, CBC Arts National, CBC Cross-Country Canada, CBC Take 30, CBC Vicki Gabereau Show, CJRT:FM Contemporary Canadian Poets, CKCO-TV Romper Room, Daily Yomiuri, El Ojo Del Lago, Fredericton Daily Gleaner, Globe and Mail, Halifax Herald, Irish Times, Japan Times, LA, Mainichi Daily News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, NHK Magazine, New York Times, Ottawa Citizen, RTE Quiet Quarter, Times of London, Toronto Life, Toronto Star, Tragaluz, TVO In Conversation With . . ., Washington Post, Wilson Quarterly, and Windsor Star. Other awards and honors include: Ontario Arts Council Writer's Grants (13); Canada Council Grants For Library/School Readings (about 300); Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" commendations (5).

Books Published: Haiku books and collections: Endless Jigsaw (Toronto: Three Trees Press, 1978, softcover, perfect bound, 48 pp.); A Snowman, Headless (Fredericton NB: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1979, stapled, 44 pp.); Wingbeats (La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 1979, stapled, 24 pp.); This Morning's Mockingbird (Battle Ground, IN: High/Coo Press, 1980, stapled, 16 pp.); Eye To Eye With A Frog (La Crosse, WI: Juniper Press, 1981, hand sewn, 20 pp.); All Of Her Shadows (Battle Ground, IN: High/Coo Press, 1982, stapled, 28 pp.); Frozen Breaths (Glen Burnie, MD: Wind Chimes Press, 1983, stapled, 20 pp.); Flaking Paint (Toronto, ON: Underwhich Editions, 1983, stapled 15 pp.); Bifids (Toronto, ON: CURVD H&Z Press, 1984, stapled, 28 pp.); Time Is Flies: Poems For Children (Toronto: Three Trees Press, 1984, perfect softbound, 48 pp.); The Space Between [with Leroy Gorman and Eric Amann] (Glen Burnie, MD: Wind Chimes, 1986, stapled mini-chapbook, 24 pp.); Multiple Personality (Vancouver, BC: Silver Birch Press, 1987, 9 pp.); I Eat a Rose Petal (Aylmer, QC, Canada: Haiku Canada, 1987, broadsheet); I Throw Stones At The Mountain (Glen Burnie, MD: Wind Chimes Press, 1988, broadsheet); bugs (Napanee, ON: pawEpress, 1998, broadsheet); Leaving My Loneliness (Pointe Claire, QC; King's Road Press, 1992, stapled, 18 pp.); My Shadow Doing Something ( Enfield, CT: Tiny Poems Press, 1997, stapled, 24pp.); Almost Unseen: Selected Haiku of George Swede (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000, hardcover, 128 pp.). Haiku Anthologies Edited: Canadian Haiku Anthology (Toronto: Three Trees Press, 1979. 105 pp. & Translated into Polish by Eva Tomaszewska, 2003); Cicada Voices: Selected Haiku of Eric Amann 1996-1979 (Battle Ground, IN: High/Coo Press, 1983, 64 pp.); Global Haiku: Twenty-five Poets World-wide [with Randy Brooks] (Hamilton, ON/ Cullercoats, Northumberland, England:Mosaic Press/Iron Press, 2000, 148 pp.). Essays on the Haiku Form: [58 or 74 counting reprints and translations--into Dutch, German, Japanese, Russian] Some of these include: "A poet discovers haiku" - Bonsai: A Quarterly of Haiku 2:3 (1977); "The role of haiku in poetry therapy" - Cross-Canada Writers Quarterly 2:4 (1980); "The English language haiku" - Contemporary Verse Two, 6 [1&2] (1982); "The Haiku Spectrum" - Haiku in English: A poetic form expands [H. Sato, editor] (Tokyo: The Simul Press, 1987) [in Japanese]; "Elite haiku: Hybrids of nature and human content" - Modern Haiku 23:1 (1992); "Haiku in English" - mushimegane 14 (1998); "Haiku in the Year 2094" - Rediscovering Basho [S.H. Gill & C.A.Gerstle, editors] (Folkestone, Kent: Global Oriental, 1999); "The Haiku as a Match for Existing Western Contexts: Some Speculations" - Haiku Canada Newsletter 13[2] (2000); "Towards a Definition of the English Haiku" - Global Haiku: Twenty-five Poets World-wide [G. Swede & R. Brooks, editors] (Cullercoats, U.K./Oakville, ON: Iron Press/Mosaic Press, 2000); "A History of the English Haiku" - Global Haiku: Twenty-five Poets World-wide [G.Swede & R. Brooks, editors] (Cullercoats, U.K./Oakville, ON: Iron Press/Mosaic Press, 2000); "Attention, Integration and Haiku Popularity" - Gendai Haiku (Autumn, 2000); "The Mexican haiku, part 1: Origins" - [with Anita Krumins] Modern Haiku 35:1 (2004); "The Mexican haiku, part 2: After the pioneers" - [with Anita Krumins] Modern Haiku 36:1 (2005); "The mind of a plagiarist" - Frogpond:The Journal of the Haiku Society of America 28:3 (2005); "Tracks in the Sand: Who Really Wrote the First Western Haiku?" - Simply Haiku: A Quarterly of Japanese Short Form Poetry 4:2 (2006); "Tracks in the Sand: Experiskinno Japanese Short Form Poetry" - Simply Haiku: A Quarterly Journal of Japanese Short Form Poetry 5:2 (2007). Collected Essays On The Haiku: The Modern English Haiku (Toronto: Columbine Editions, 1981, 52 pp.). Non-Haiku Books – Poetry: Unwinding (Toronto, ON, Canada: Missing Link, 1974, stapled, 24 pp.); Tell-tale Feathers (Fredericton, N. B., Canada: Fiddlehead, 1978, perfect softbound, 55 pp.); As Far As The Sea Can Eye (Toronto, ON, Canada: York, 1979, perfect softbound, 119 pp.); Biased Sample (Toronto: The League of Canadian Poets, 1982, broadsheet); Tick Bird: Poems for Children (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1983, perfect softbound, 48 pp.); Night Tides (London, ON, Canada: South Western Ontario Poetry, 1984, stapled, 28 pp.); High Wire Spider: Poems for Children (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1986, perfect softbound, 48 pp.); Leaping Lizard: Poems for Children (Stratford, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1988, perfect softbound, 48 pp.); Where Even the Factories Have Lawns [with JW Curry] (Toronto, ON, Canada: Gesture Press, 1988, stapled, 24 pp.); Holes in My Cage: Poems for Young Adults (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1989, perfect softbound, 48 pp.); (ed.), The Universe is One Poem: Four Poets Talk Poetry (Toronto, ON, Canada: Simon & Pierre, 1990, perfect softbound, 120 pp.); I Want to Lasso Time (Toronto, ON, Canada: Simon & Pierre, 1991, perfect softbound, 77 pp.); (ed.), There will Always be a Sky (Boston/Toronto: Houghton Mifflin/Nelson Canada, 1993, stapled, 48 pp.); Five O'Clock Shadows [with George Amabile, Leonard Gasparini, Seymour Mayne, Ted Plantos] (Toronto, ON, Canada: Letters Bookshop, 1996, perfect softbound, 48 pp.); First Light, First Shadows (Liverpool, UK: Snapshot Press, 2006, perfect softbound, 64 pp.). Children's Story Books: The Case of the Moonlit Goldust (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1979, hardcover & softcover, 32 pp.); The Case of the Missing Heirloom (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1980, perfect softbound, 36 pp.); Quillby, The Porcupine Who Lost His Quills [with Anita Krumins] (Toronto: Three Trees Press, 1980, perfect softbound); The Case of the Seaside Burglaries (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1981, hardcover & softcover, 56 pp.); The Case of the Downhill Theft (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1982, perfect softbound, 56 pp.); Undertow (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1982, perfect softbound, 64 pp.); Dudley and the Birdman (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1985, perfect hardbound & softcover stapled, 24 pp.); Dudley and the Christmas Thief (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1986, perfect hardbound & softcover, stapled, 24 pp.). Psychology Books: Creativity. A New Psychology (Toronto, ON, Canada: Wall & Emerson, 1993, perfect softbound, 112 pp.); The Psychology of Art: An Experimental Approach (Toronto, ON, Canada: Canadian Scholars' Press, 1994, 280 pp.). Essays on Poetic Development: "Poetic Innovation" - The International Handbook On Innovation [L.V. Shavinina, editor] (Oxford: Elsevier Science/Pergamon, 2003); "Why Do We Write? - Imagination in Action [C. Malyon, editor] (Toronto: Mercury Press, 2007).

Selected Haiku
	passport check my shadow waits across the border	leaving my loneliness inside her
	sunrise I forget my side of the argument	at the edge of the precipice I grow logical
	wildflowers I cannot name most of me	wilderness canyon my shout and its echo quickly lost in time

Credits: "passport check" - Cicada 2:4 (1978); Howard & Duhaime, Haiku: Anthologie Canadienne / Canadian Anthology (Les editions Asticou, Hull, Quebec, Canada, 1985); van den Heuvel, The Haiku Anthology (Simon and Schuster, 1986); Frogpond 18:4 (1995); Haïku sans frontières (Web); van den Heuvel, The Haiku Anthology (W.W. Norton & Co., 1999); Almost Unseen: Selected Haiku of George Swede (Brooks Books, 2000); Haijinx 1:1 (2001); "sunrise" - Cicada 2:1 (1978); Aikins, ed., Cicada: A Selection from Volume 2, Nos. 1 & 2 (1978); Swede, A Snowman, Headless (1978); Cicada 3:4 (1980); Swede, Leaving My Loneliness (King's Road Press (1992); van den Heuvel, The Haiku Anthology (W.W. Norton & Co., 1999); Swede, Almost Unseen: Selected Haiku of George Swede (Brooks Books, 2000); Shreve Memorial Library (Shreveport, La.) Electronic Poetry Network (November 20, 2000); Swede, Canadian Haiku Anthology (1979); Swede, Alone at Last (3Lights [Web] (April 2007); "wildflowers" – The Heron's Nest 12:1 (2010); "leaving my loneliness" - Cicada 3:3 (1979); Willmot,ed., Erotic Haiku Anthology (1983); Swede, Leaving My Loneliness (King's Road Press (1992); van den Heuvel, The Haiku Anthology (Simon and Schuster, 1986); Still 1:4 (1997); van den Heuvel, The Haiku Anthology (W.W. Norton & Co., 1999); Almost Unseen: Selected Haiku of George Swede (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000); at the edge" – Swede, A Snowman, Headless (1978); van den Heuvel, The Haiku Anthology (Simon and Schuster, 1986); van den Heuvel, The Haiku Anthology (W.W. Norton & Co., 1999); "wilderness canyon" – The Heron's Nest 9:1 (2007).