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Dennis Cooley

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Dennis Cooley
Born1944 (age 79–80)
Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada.
OccupationWriter, editor
LanguageEnglish
EducationBachelor of Education Degree, Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree, Masters of Arts Degree, Ph.D

Dennis Cooley(born 1944) is aCanadianwriter of poetry and criticism, a retired university professor, and a vital figure in the evolution of the prairie long poem. He was raised on a farm near the small city ofEstevan, SaskatchewaninCanada,and currently resides inWinnipeg,Manitoba.

Cooley's self-proclaimed influences in writing areWilliam Carlos Williams,H.D.,Robert Duncan,Charles Olson,E.E. Cummings,Eli Mandel,Andrew Suknaski,Daphne Marlatt,bpNichol,Michael Ondaatje,andRobert Kroetsch.[1]

Early life

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As a student, Cooley held a variety of different labouring jobs during the summers.[2] First attending secondary schooling at theUniversity of Saskatchewan,Cooley obtained with added Distinction his Bachelor of Education Degree in 1966, a High HonoursBachelor of ArtsDegree in 1967[2]and afterwards upgraded to his Masters of Arts Degree onStephen Crane's imagery and symbolism in 1968.[3]

Cooley later moved toNew York stateto attend theUniversity of Rochester.It was there that Cooley prepared the research for his doctorate on the San Francisco-born American poet,Robert Duncan.He received thePh. Din 1971.[4]

Career

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From 1972 to 1973, Cooley was employed within the Blakeney Government in Saskatchewan as an executive assistant.[5]Apart from this, most of Cooley's working life has been teaching English.

He has worked atSt. John's Collegesince 1976 as the Organizer of Literary Conferences within the University of Manitoba[6]and taught Early Modern and Contemporary poetry, specializing in Robert Duncan,Dorothy Livesay,Margaret Atwood,Robert Kroetsch,Eli Mandel,Prairie Literature, the Long poem in the Twentieth Century, Canadian Writers in Self-construction, Fundamentals of Literary Theory, American Literature, Creative Writing, Poetry & Media 1994–1995, Narratology & Postcolonialism.[3] He retired from in 2011.[7]

He has since helped start create the Manitoba Writers’ Guild, and is currently President.[4] The Guild, founded in 1981 in Aubigny, Manitoba as a support group for Manitoba writers, offers workshops, conducts local reading groups and a peer support network for enhancing and encouraging other writers of all skill levels.[8]

Cooley is also an editor, and from 1975 to 1976 was the Assistant Editor on the Journal of Canadian Fiction, the Poetry Editor of Arts Manitoba from 1978 to 1979 and 1982–1983, the Contributing Editor toBorder Crossingsfrom 1989 to 1993, as well as the Editor at the Pachyderm Press from 1993 onward. He also served as the Workshop Leader at the Sage Hill Writing Experience in 1992, 1998, 1999, and 2000.[3]

Cooley is a founding editor of theTurnstone Pressin Winnipeg, Manitoba,[9]which was created in 1976 in a local Winnipeg pub. Turnstone promotes authors who are either landed immigrants or Canadian citizens, with fifty percent featuring local Manitoba content and Manitoban writers.[10]

Writing

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Cooley specializes in different genres of poetry; such as literary travel,literary criticism,and thelong poem.[5] He shows special interest in Canadian Literature, American Writing, modern and postmodern writing, the languages of orality and print, poetry and politics, and literary theory.[4] To date, Cooley has published a dozen volumes of poetry, and over a hundred various articles, columns, reviews, and interviews.[6]

Cooley has travelled abroad to share his talent by giving workshops, lectures and readings to places such asUkraineandRussia(Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Chernivtsi, and Moscow) in May 1991, to the World Poetry Conference inPortugalin May 1995 and again in May 2001,Berlinin August 2002,Polandin April 1999, andSpainin December 1998.[3]To benefit those who don't read his native language of English, some of his work has been translated into Portuguese, German, Chinese and Ukrainian.[11]

Cooley gave his time to theUniversity of Augsburgin the summer of 1996 by being the Canadian Studies guest professor.[10]

Cooley is currently keeping busy by working on personal travel journals, poetry books, and a plethora of essays.[10]

Recognition

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Cooley is the recipient of twelve Manitoba Book Awards, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.[7] He has also won or been nominated for the following:

  • (1967-1968) University of Saskatchewan Teaching Fellowship.
  • (1968-1971) Canada Council award for graduate study.
  • (1968-1971) University of Rochester Tuition Scholarships.
  • (1975) University of Manitoba Research Grant to work on the Duncan papers in the Bancroft Library at Berkeley.
  • (1979) Olive Beatrice Stanton award for excellence in teaching.
  • (1981-1982) SSHRC Leave Fellowship.
  • (1987) Manitoba Arts Council Award to write a screen play based on Bloody Jack.
  • (1987) University of Manitoba outreach award.
  • (1988) Perishable Light nominated for McNally Robinson Book Award.
  • (1989) Western Magazine Award for arts commentary.
  • (1990) Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies, University of Trier, West Germany— May–July.
  • (1990) Featured reader at Moorhead State University in the Thomas McGrath reading series.
  • (May 5, 1995) City of Estevan official Dennis Cooley day.
  • (1996) Guest Professor in Canadian Studies at Universität Augsburg.
  • (2000)Irenenominated for the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award.
  • (2000) Named "Favourite Poet" in Write: Readers' Choice poll.
  • (2001)Irenenominated for McNaly Robinson book of the Year Award.[3]
  • (2012) Departmental Distinguished Lecturer of the Year Award from the University of Windsor, Ontario for his LectureA Lover's Question: Staging Romance in Kroetsch's The Sad Phoenician.[12]

Bibliography

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  • Cooley, D. (1980)Leaving.Lyrical poems about friends and family, Turnstone Press.ISBN0-88801-0397[5]
  • Cooley, D. (1983)Fielding.Poem about Cooley's father, including his death.Thistledown Press.ISBN0-920066-71-2.
  • Cooley, D. (1984)Bloody Jack.Poem that plays off the narrative of Jack Krafchenko, a famous outlaw from early twentieth-century Manitoba. Turnstone Press.ISBN0-88801-091-5;1984
  • Cooley, D. (1987)Soul Searching.Poems on the mind/body binary. Red Deer College Press.ISBN0-88995-038-5;1987.
  • Cooley, D. (1987)The Vernacular Muse.Critical essays on the eye and the ear in Canadian literature. Turnstone Press.ISBN0-88801-124-5;1987.
  • Cooley, D. (1988)Dedications.Poems dedicated to friends and other writers. Thistledown Press.
  • Cooley, D. (1988)Perishable Light.Poems from memory, dream, fantasy, set in the Prairies. Coteau Books.ISBN0-919926-78-9
  • Cooley, D. (1992)Eli Mandel and His Works.ECW Press.
  • Cooley, D. (1992)This Only Home.Poems on astronauts, astronomers and mariners. Turnstone Press.ISBN0-88801-164-4
  • Cooley, D. (1992)Burglar of Blood.Dracula poems. Pachyderm Press.
  • Cooley, D. (1996)Sunfall.Selected and new poems. House of Anansi Press.
  • Cooley, D. (2000)IrenePoetry about the death of Cooley's mother. Turnstone Press.ISBN0-88801-246-2
  • Cooley, D. (2002)Bloody Jack. 2nd. ed.University of Alberta.ISBN0-88864-391-8
  • Cooley, D. (2003)Seeing RedDracula Poems. Turnstone Press.ISBN0-88801-277-2
  • Cooley, D. (2004)Country MusicNew Poems. Kalamalka.ISBN0-9693482-8-2
  • Cooley, D. (2006)The BentleysPoems of a prairie couple. University of Alberta.ISBN978-0-88864-470-1
  • Cooley, D. (2007)By Word of MouthCanadian identity poems. Wilfrid Laurier.ISBN978-1-55458-007-1
  • Cooley, D. (2008)Correction LineReconstructing Memory poems. Thistledown Press.ISBN978-1-897235-50-8
  • Cooley, D.The StonesPrairie Relation poems. Turnstone Press.ISBN978-0888014498

Books edited

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  • Cooley, D (Ed.) (1981)In the Name of Narid: New Poems.Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill.
  • Cooley, D (Ed.) (1981)Draft: An Anthology of Prairie Poetry.Toronto, ON: Turnstone Press.
  • Cooley, D (Ed.) (1980)Replacing.Toronto, ON: ECW.
  • Cooley, D (Ed.) (1992)Inscriptions: Prairie Poetry.Winnipeg, MB: Turnstone Press.[3]

References

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  1. ^By Word of Mouth. The Poetry of Dennis Cooleybookworkpjw.ca Archived2013-10-31 at theWayback Machine
  2. ^ab"University of Manitoba - Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture - Dennis Cooley".umanitoba.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-11-03.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  3. ^abcdef"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-11-11.Retrieved2013-11-07.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^abc"Cooley Dennis | poets.ca".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-01.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  5. ^abc"University of Manitoba - Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture - Dennis Cooley".Archivedfrom the original on 2019-11-03.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  6. ^ab"Welcome to the University of Alberta Press".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-31.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  7. ^ab"Dennis Cooley".umanitoba.ca.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-11.
  8. ^"FAQ".mbwriter.mb.ca.2017-08-09.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-07-16.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  9. ^"Dennis Cooley".thistledownpress.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-11-01.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  10. ^abc"CanLit Poets | Canadian Literature".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-01.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  11. ^"Thistledown Press".Archivedfrom the original on 2013-11-01.Retrieved2013-10-29.
  12. ^"Departmental Distinguished Lecturer Dennis Cooley | English Language, Literature and Creative Writing - University of Windsor".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-01.Retrieved2013-10-29.
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