Billeh Nickerson (born February 14, 1972) is a Canadian writer, editor, performer, producer and arts advocate.

Billeh Nickerson
Born (1972-02-14) February 14, 1972 (age 52)
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Occupation
  • Writer
  • editor
  • performer
  • producer
  • arts advocate
Alma materUniversity of Victoria
University of British Columbia

Personal life

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Nickerson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia,[1] grew up in Langley, British Columbia, lived in Toronto, Ontario, and currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] He earned an undergraduate degree in fine arts from the University of Victoria and a master's degree in fine arts from the University of British Columbia.[2]

Writing and editing

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In 2000, Nickerson published The Asthmatic Glassblower and other poems with Arsenal Pulp. It was nominated for the Publishing Triangle's Thom Gunn Award.[3] He is also the author of the humorous essay collection Let Me Kiss It Better: Elixirs for the Not So Straight and Narrow (Arsenal Pulp, 2002) and co-editor of Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Male Poets with John Barton (Arsenal Pulp, 2007).[4] He was writer in residence at Berton House in Dawson City during July and August 2010.

In 2009, he published McPoems.[5] He followed up in 2012 with Impact: The Titanic Poems, a collection of poetry inspired by the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.[1]

His most recent collection, Artificial Cherry, was published in 2014.[6] The book was a shortlisted finalist for the 2014 City of Vancouver Book Award.[7]

Nickerson is a founding member of the performance troupe Haiku Night in Canada.[8] He is also the past editor of the literary journals Event and Prism international.

He teaches creative writing at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.[1]

Publications

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  • The Asthmatic Glassblower and other poems (Arsenal Pulp, 2000)
  • Let Me Kiss It Better: Elixirs for the Not So Straight and Narrow (Arsenal Pulp, 2002)
  • Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Men's Poetry, co-edited by John Barton (Arsenal Pulp, 2007)
  • McPoems (Arsenal Pulp, 2009)
  • Impact: The Titanic Poems (2012)
  • Artificial Cherry (2014)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Brett Josef Grubisic, "Impact". Vancouver Sun, April 14, 2012.
  2. ^ "Writer's Union of Canada Profile: Billeh Nickerson". Archived from the original on June 16, 2011.
  3. ^ "A little the verse for wear". The Globe and Mail, January 1, 2003.
  4. ^ "Poems illuminate the gay connection". Toronto Star, July 21, 2007.
  5. ^ "Lady Gaga and 100 cheeseburgers". National Post, November 14, 2009.
  6. ^ "People get so uptight about bodies, says poet Billeh Nickerson" Archived May 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Xtra!, May 10, 2014.
  7. ^ "New accolades for Arthur Erickson biography". The Globe and Mail, September 11, 2014.
  8. ^ "Haiku Night in Canada: Say hello to 'Margaret Atwood and Don Cherry's love child'". The Province, September 24, 2006.
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