Garry Thomas Morse's Discovery Passages (Talonbooks 2011) has been described as the first collection of poetry about the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) First Nations. Morse's book retraces Captain Vancouver's original sailing route in B.C. The poems contain tales of First Nations chiefs along with transformed passages from Whitman, Pound, Williams and Bowering--linking Kwakwaka'wakw traditions with contemporary poetry. Discovery Passages was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Poetry and a finalist for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize.

Morse is also author of other books of poetry such as Transversals for Orpheus (2006) and Streams (2007), and a collection of short stories entitled Death in Vancouver (Talonbooks, 2009).

In 2008, Morse received the City of Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award for Emerging Artist and his manuscript Go Medieval was selected as a runner-up for the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry.

Grounded in the work of Ezra Pound, Jack Spicer, Rainer Maria Rilke and his Native oral traditions, his work has been featured in a variety of publications, including Canadian Literature, The Capilano Review, dANDelion, filling Station, memewar, The Vancouver Review and West Coast Line.

Garry Thomas Morse's stories in Death in Vancouver (Talon $19.95) reflect "a transnational, ahistoric cosmopolitanism" as he attempts to rediscover the "theatrical madness" of his mother's people (the Kwakwaka'wakw) who have become disconnected from the "dream-time" that existed in everyday lives.

Prairie Harbour (Talonbooks 2015) was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Poetry.

 

BOOKS:

Scofflaw (Anvil, 2021) $18 978-1-77214-172-6. Poetry
Yams Do Not Exist (Turnstone, 2019) $19 9780888016782. Novel
Safety Sand (Talonbooks, 2017) $18.95 978-1-77201-198-2. Poetry
Prairie Harbour (Talonbooks, 2015) $18.95 978-0-88922-940-2. Poetry
Rogue Cells / Carbon Harbour (Talonbooks, 2013) $16.95 978-0-88922-776-7. Fiction
Minor Episodes / Major Ruckus (Talonbooks, 2012). Fiction
Discovery Passages (Talonbooks, 2011) 978-0-88922-660-9 $16.95. Poetry
After Jack (Talonbooks, 2010) 088922630X, $18.95. Poetry
Death in Vancouver (Talonbooks, $19.95) 978-0-88922-607-4. Short Fiction
Transversals for Orpheus (2006) Poetry

[BCBW 2021] "Poetry"