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The Witness Ghost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Award-winning poet Tim Bowling now also a Governor-General's Finalist.
After receiving some of the most prestigious literary awards that Canada has to offer, including the Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry, the Stephen G. Stephansson Award and the Petra Kenney International Poetry Prize, Edmonton writer Tim Bowling can now add a nomination for the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry to his list of honours. His fifth book of poems, The Witness Ghost ($15.95, Nightwood Editions), was released almost simultaneously with his second novel, The Paperboy's Winter ($24.00, Penguin), this past spring.
Bowling, who was born and raised in Ladner, BC, says the call from the awards committee was something of a surprise. "The Witness Ghost is a very emotional book for me, since it deals with grieving," admits Bowling. "To be honest, it feels odd to receive any recognition at all for it." The Witness Ghost deals primarily with the death of Bowling's father, a man who spent his working life as a salmon fisherman on British Columbia's majestic Fraser River. In this book, Bowling uses his characteristic style of direct emotional statement mixed with startling imagery and metaphor to produce one of the most intense and loving tributes to fatherhood in Canadian poetry.
Bowling is also grateful that the recognition will bring his poems before a larger audience. "The poems were always intended to be a celebration of life and, in particular, of the land and waterscape of the Fraser River delta, so I'm grateful to this year's Governor General's poetry jury for giving The Witness Ghost a chance to reach a wider readership."
The Governor General's Literary Awards-funded, administered and promoted by the Canada Council for the Arts-are among the most prestigious literary prizes in Canada. In this, the 67th year of the awards, publishers across Canada submitted 137 books in the English poetry category. Tim Bowling and the four other finalists in the poetry category will receive $1,000 in recognition of their achievements, while the winner of the award will receive $15,000 and an additional $3,000 for their publisher.
Award-winning poet Tim Bowling now also a Governor-General's Finalist.
After receiving some of the most prestigious literary awards that Canada has to offer, including the Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry, the Stephen G. Stephansson Award and the Petra Kenney International Poetry Prize, Edmonton writer Tim Bowling can now add a nomination for the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry to his list of honours. His fifth book of poems, The Witness Ghost ($15.95, Nightwood Editions), was released almost simultaneously with his second novel, The Paperboy's Winter ($24.00, Penguin), this past spring.
Bowling, who was born and raised in Ladner, BC, says the call from the awards committee was something of a surprise. "The Witness Ghost is a very emotional book for me, since it deals with grieving," admits Bowling. "To be honest, it feels odd to receive any recognition at all for it." The Witness Ghost deals primarily with the death of Bowling's father, a man who spent his working life as a salmon fisherman on British Columbia's majestic Fraser River. In this book, Bowling uses his characteristic style of direct emotional statement mixed with startling imagery and metaphor to produce one of the most intense and loving tributes to fatherhood in Canadian poetry.
Bowling is also grateful that the recognition will bring his poems before a larger audience. "The poems were always intended to be a celebration of life and, in particular, of the land and waterscape of the Fraser River delta, so I'm grateful to this year's Governor General's poetry jury for giving The Witness Ghost a chance to reach a wider readership."
The Governor General's Literary Awards-funded, administered and promoted by the Canada Council for the Arts-are among the most prestigious literary prizes in Canada. In this, the 67th year of the awards, publishers across Canada submitted 137 books in the English poetry category. Tim Bowling and the four other finalists in the poetry category will receive $1,000 in recognition of their achievements, while the winner of the award will receive $15,000 and an additional $3,000 for their publisher.
Submitted on October 20, 2003 in By David.
