bill bissett

Gregory Betts (Brock University)

Ed. by Karis Shearer, University of British Columbia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.1.2: Canadian Writing and Culture (Anglophone): The Twentieth Century and beyond, 1900-present.
Vol. editors: Sarah Henzi (Simon Fraser University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Glen Nichols (Mount Allison University), Wendy Roy (University of Saskatchewan), Denis Salter (McGill University), Karis Shearer (University of British Columbia)

Dates

Born 23 Nov 1939
Activity 1959-ongoing

Places

Born in Canada
Active in Canada

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

bissett's Works

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bill bissett is one of Canada’s most recognized and celebrated experimental poets. He is particularly famous for his charismatic performances, which frequently extend into song, sound poetry, and improvised digressive story telling. When Jack Kerouac declared bissett one of the world’s great poets, and even called bissett a better writer than himself, he mistakenly described bissett as a First Nations author likely because of this exploration of oral sound traditions. bissett has also been acclaimed as one of the pioneers of visual or concrete poetry in Canada. The visual and oral dimensions of bissett’s writing connect to his extensive work as a visual artist, primarily as a painter, and to his extensive recording history with musical accompaniment. As a poet, he tours constantly…

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2339 words

Citation: Betts, Gregory. "bill bissett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 April 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=422, accessed 22 November 2024.]