View source for BpNichol

{{Short description|Canadian poet (1944–1988)}}
{{lowercase title}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->
| name          = bpNichol
| image         = BpNichol-rosenfeld.jpg
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| pseudonym     =
| birth_name    =
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1944|09|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = [[Vancouver]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1988|09|25|1944|09|30|df=yes}}
| death_place   = [[Toronto]]
| resting_place =
| occupation    =
| language      = English
| nationality   = Canadian
| ethnicity     =
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| education     =
| alma_mater    =
| period        =
| genre         = Poetry
| subject       =
| movement      = [[Concrete poetry]];<br />[[The Four Horsemen (poetry)|The Four Horsemen]]
| notableworks  = ''The Martyrology''
| spouse        =
| partner       =
| children      =
| relatives     =
| influences    =
| influenced    =
| awards        = [[Governor General's Award]] for poetry
| signature     =
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| website       = {{official website|http://www.bpnichol.ca}}
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'''Barrie Phillip Nichol''' (30 September 1944 &ndash; 25 September 1988), known as '''bpNichol''', was a Canadian [[poet]], writer, [[sound poetry|sound poet]], [[Author editing|editor]], creative writing teacher at York University in Toronto and [[grOnk]]/Ganglia Press publisher. His body of work encompasses [[poetry]], [[children's books]], television scripts,<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629318/|title=B.P. Nichol|website=IMDb|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref>  [[novel]]s, [[short fiction]], computer texts, and [[sound poetry]]. His love of language and writing, evident in his many accomplishments, continues to be carried forward by many.<ref name="Barbour">{{cite book| last1=Barbour| first1=Douglas|title=bp-nichol-and-his-works| date=1992|publisher=ECW Press|location=Toronto|isbn=9781550220667 |url=http://ecwpress.com/products/bp-nichol-and-his-works}}</ref><ref name="Miki">{{cite book|last1=Miki|first1=Roy|title=meanwhile: the critical writings of bpNichol|date=2002|publisher=Talonbooks |location=Vancouver|isbn=9780889224476 |url=http://talonbooks.com/books/meanwhile}}</ref><ref name="Bowering">{{cite book|last1=Bowering|first1=George|title=An H in the Heart: A Reader |date=1994|publisher=McClelland & Stewart |isbn=9780771068140|url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/403202.An_H_in_the_Heart}}</ref><ref name="Davey">{{cite book|last1=Davey|first1=Frank|title=Aka Bpnichol: A Preliminary Biography|date=2012|publisher=ECW Press|location=Toronto|isbn=9781770902602|language=en}}</ref>
==Work==
Nichol was born in [[Vancouver|Vancouver, British Columbia]]. Though his early writing consisted of [[fiction]] and [[Lyric poetry|lyrical poems]], he first received international recognition in the 1960s for [[concrete poetry]]. The first major publications included ''Journeying & the returns'' (1967),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpnichol.ca/archive/documents/journeying-returns|title=Journeying & the Returns|website=Bpnichol.ca|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> a purple box containing visual & lyrical poems and ''Konfessions of an Elizabethan Fan Dancer'' (1969)<ref name="bpNichol">{{cite book|last1=Nichol|first1=bp|title=Konfessions of an Elizabethan Fan Dancer|date=1969|publisher=Coach House Books|location=Toronto|isbn=9781552451373 |url=https://chbooks.com/Books/K/Konfessions-of-an-Elizabethan-Fan-Dancer }}</ref> a book of concrete poetry. He won the 1970 [[Governor General's Award]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bp-nichol/ |title=bpNichol |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=2016-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912181725/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bp-nichol/ |archive-date=2016-09-12 }}</ref> for poetry with four publications: the prose booklet ''The True Eventual Story of Billy the Kid''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thecompleteworks.ca/2015/04/12/the-true-eventual-story-of-billy-the-kid/|title=THE TRUE EVENTUAL STORY OF BILLY THE KID|date=12 April 2015|website=Thecompleteworks.ca|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> a collection of lyrical poems, ''Beach Head'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/Beach-Head-Transitions-66-67/dp/B000U8X4AK|title=Beach Head: Transitions 66 & 67.|first=bp|last=NICHOL|date=21 October 1970|publisher=Sacramento: Runcible Spoon|access-date=21 October 2017|via=Amazon}}</ref> the boxed concrete sequence, ''Still Water'' and ''The Cosmic Chef'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angelhousepress.com/essays/Gil%20McElroy%20-%20Nichol%20essay.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509034303/http://www.angelhousepress.com/essays/Gil%20McElroy%20-%20Nichol%20essay.pdf |archive-date=2009-05-09 |url-status=live|title=Ground States : The Visual Contexts of bpNichol|website=Angelhousepress.com|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> a boxed [[anthology]] of concrete and [[visual poetry]].
His best known work, ''The Martyrology'' (1972–1992)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chbooks.com/content/search?search_in%5B%5D=all&SearchText=bp+nichol|title = Search}}</ref> is an open-ended, lifelong poem that investigates language. The 'saints' are drawn from 'st' words (storm becomes St. Orm) and their spiritual quest provides a springboard from which linguistic issues of [[textuality]], reading and writing are explored.
Nichol frequently collaborated with other artists. The work of the sound poetry group, [[The Four Horsemen (poetry)|The Four Horsemen]] (Nichol, Rafael Barreto-Rivera,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n83221452|title=The conjured ones : a collection of poems /|website=Worldcat.org|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> [[Paul Dutton]] and [[Steve McCaffery]]) has been documented in Volcano Theatre's<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volcano.ca/thefourhorsemenproject|title=The Four Horsemen Project|website=Volcano.ca|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> stage performances of The Four Horsemen Project ([[Dora Mavor Moore Award]] 2007 & 2015). He collaborated with Steve McCaffrey to form The Toronto Research Group (TRG),<ref name="Peter Jaeger">{{cite book|last1= Jaeger |first1=Peter|title= ABC of Reading TRG |date=1997|publisher= Talon Books |location=Toronto|isbn=9780889224230 |url= http://talonbooks.com/books/abc-of-reading-trg }}</ref> with Barbara Caruso,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parisstaronline.com/2012/09/25/discovering-the-art-of-barbara-caruso|title=Discovering the art of Barbara Caruso|website=Paris Star|access-date=21 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085054/http://www.parisstaronline.com/2012/09/25/discovering-the-art-of-barbara-caruso|archive-date=22 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/special/weedflower|title=Weed/Flower Press Collection - Special Collections - The University Library - The University of Sheffield|first=University of|last=Sheffield|website=Sheffield.ac.uk|date=30 September 2016|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> visual artist, with [[R. Murray Schafer]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patria.org/arcana/arcbooks.html|title=Arcana Books|website=Patria.org|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/r-murray-schafer-emc |title=R. Murray Schafer |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=2016-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127215550/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/r-murray-schafer-emc/ |archive-date=2016-11-27 }}</ref>  Howard Gerhard<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQQQpwfe6pUC&q=Howard+Gerhard&pg=PT8|title=Ad Sanctos: A Choral Performance Work|first=B. P.|last=Nichol|date=21 October 1993|publisher=Coach House Books|access-date=21 October 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9780889104549}}</ref> and [[John Beckwith (composer)|John Beckwith]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-beckwith-emc |title=John Beckwith |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=2016-11-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073037/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/john-beckwith-emc/ |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>  [[composer]]s.
Nichol's zest for publishing other writers was reflected in founding Ganglia Press<ref>{{cite web|url=https://openlibrary.org/publishers/Ganglia_Press|title=Publisher: Ganglia Press |website=Open Library|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> with David Aylward in 1964 and [[grOnk]] in 1967 with Aylward, Rob Hindley-Smith and [[David UU]] ( David W. Harris). He was a volunteer editor at [[Coach House Books]] from 1975 to his death. In 1978, he was one of the [[collective]] that established Underwhich Editions<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccca.concordia.ca/history/ozz/english/presses/underwhich_editions.html|title=One Zero Zero Virtual Library|website=Ccca.concordia.ca|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> which edited, designed, published and distributed the works of worthy writers. During the 1970s and 80s, he was a contributing editor of Open Letter,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publish.uwo.ca/~fdavey/history.htm|title=Open Letter - History and Mandate|website=publish.uwo.ca}}</ref> a [[literary magazine]].
Nichol also had a large presence on screens of various sizes. In the mid-1980s, he became a writer for the children's television show, ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'', created by [[Jim Henson]]. Soon, scriptwriting for other children's television shows<ref name="auto"/> followed: ''[[The Raccoons]]'', ''[[Under the Umbrella Tree]]'', ''[[Care Bears]]'' and ''[[Babar (TV series)|Babar]]''. Several films include bp and his work, starting with [[Michael Ondaatje]]'s short film, ''Sons of Captain Poetry'';<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ubu.com/film/ondaatje_poetry.html|title=UbuWeb Film & Video: Michael Ondaatje - The Sons of Captain Poetry (1970)|website=Ubu.com|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> [[Ron Mann]]'s ''[[Poetry in Motion (film)|Poetry in Motion]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=843O0bTVKHQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/843O0bTVKHQ| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=''The Four Horsemen's'' emotional poetry
|date=21 November 2009|access-date=21 October 2017|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> followed by ''[[bp: pushing the boundaries]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movingimages.ca/store/products.php?bp_pushing|title=Moving Images Distribution: bp (pushing the boundaries)|website=Movingimages.ca|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> directed by Brian Nash,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfmdc.org/user/8452 |title=Brian Nash &#124; CFMDC.org |access-date=2016-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127152208/http://www.cfmdc.org/user/8452 |archive-date=2016-11-27 }}</ref> and more recently, [[Justin Stephenson]]'s  award-winning film, ''The Complete Works''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thecompleteworks.ca|title=The Complete Works|website=The Complete Works|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> He died{{how?|date=October 2024}} in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], five days shy of his 44th birthday. Since his death, there has been an upsurge of interest in ''First Screenings'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vispo.com/bp|title=First Screening by bp Nichol|website=Vispo.com|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref> Nichol's 1984 computer poem (updated by Jim Andrews and his team<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vispo.com/bp/jim.htm|title=Jim Andrews on bpNichol's First Screening|website=Vispo.com|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref>) which has been part of electronic exhibitions from [[Mexico]] to [[Oakville, Ontario|Oakville]].
== Therafields ==
Barrie Nichol / bpNichol was also a central figure in the psychoanalytic community Therafields, from the early 1960s into the early 1980s, with his formal resignation as vice-president of the organization in 1982.<ref name="Goodbrand 2010">{{Cite book |last=Goodbrand |first=Grant |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/781370111 |title=Therafields : the Rise and Fall of Lea Hindley-Smith's Psychoanalytic Commune. |date=2010 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=978-1-55490-976-6 |location=Chicago |oclc=781370111}}</ref> Nichol dedicates ''[https://www.bpnichol.ca/archive/documents/martyrology-books-1-2 The Martyrology]'' to the founder, Lea Hindley-Smith, “for lea / without whose act of friendship / quite literally none of this would have been written’ (14) and the work makes many references to Therafields, Lea, the Annex, and Mono Mills, where the organization owned multiple properties, and some named individuals. Nichol “underwent personal therapy” in 1963” with Lea, and he is credited with stating, ”In my case, I think therapy literally saved my life” (Scobie 18).<ref name="Scobie 1984">{{Cite book |last=Scobie |first=Stephen |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12238187 |title=BpNichol : what history teaches |date=1984 |publisher=Talonbooks |isbn=0-88922-220-7 |location=Vancouver |oclc=12238187}}</ref>
==Commemoration==
[[File:A LAKE A LANE A LINE A LONE - bpNichol.jpg|thumb|right|A / LAKE / A / LANE / A / LINE / A / LONE - bpNichol]]
The bpNichol Chapbook Award,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://meetthepresses.wordpress.com/bpnichol-chapbook-award/|title=bpNichol Chapbook Award|date=9 January 2012|website=Meetthepress.wordpress.com|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref>
a prize for poetry publications between 10 and 48 pages, was established in 1986 by Phoenix Community Works Foundation. This annual award for excellence in Canadian Poetry in English is now administered by Meet the Presses collective.
A street in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada, is named in his honour. '''bpNichol Lane''' is located near Huron and Sussex Streets beside [[Coach House Books]]. It features an eight-line poem by Nichol carved into the pavement: "A / LAKE / A / LANE / A / LINE / A / LONE".<ref>{{cite web|title=bnNichol Ln|url=https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6659691,-79.4001169,3a,75y,343.05h,79.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVCU76_LJJOYUryjY4jnhgA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en|website=Google Maps|access-date=30 September 2016}}</ref>
== Bibliography ==
{{Incomplete list|date=February 2022}}
===Poetry===
*''Cycles Etc.'' (Cleveland: 7 Flowers Press, 1965)
*''Scraptures: second sequence'' (Toronto: Ganglia Press, 1965)
*''Journeying & the returns'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1967)
*''Konfessions of an Elizabethan Fan Dancer'' (London: Writers Forum, 1967; Toronto: Weed/Flower Press, 1973; Toronto: Coach House Books, 2004)
*''Still Water'' (Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1970)
*''The other side of the room'' (Toronto: Weed/Flower Press, 1971)
*''Monotones'' (Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1971)
*''The Captain Poetry Poems'' (blewointment press, 1971; Toronto: BookThug, 2011)
*''The Martyrology, Books 1 & 2'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1972)
*''Love: A Book of Remembrances'' (Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1974)
*''The Martyrology, Books 3 & 4'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1976)
*''Selected Writing: as elected'' (Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1980)
*''The Martyrology, Book 5'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1982)
*''First Screening'' (Calgary: Red Deer College Press, 1984; vispo.com)
*''Zygal: a book of mysteries & translations'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1985)
*''The Martyrology, Book 6 Books'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1987)
*''Gifts: the Martyrology Book(s) 7 &'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1990)
*''Ad Sanctos: the Martyrology Book 9 – a performance work with Howard Gerhard'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1993)
*''Truth: a book of Fictions'' (Toronto: Mercury Press, 1993. Irene Niechoda, ed.)
*''Art Facts: a book of contexts'' (Arizona: Chax Press, 1990)
*''a book of variations: love-zygal-art facts'' (Toronto: Coach House, 2013. Stephen Voyce, ed.)
*''bp: beginnings'' (Toronto: BookThug, 2014. [[Stephen Cain (poet)|Stephen Cain]], ed.)
===Booklets===
*''Scraptures: 2nd Sequence'' (Toronto: Ganglia Press, 1965)
*''The Birth of O'' (Toronto: Ganglia Press, 1966)
*''Cold Mountain'' (Toronto: Ganglia Press, Singing Hands Series 3, 1966; Toronto: Coach House Press, 1967; Vancouver: Fingerprinting Inkoperated, 1992)
*''Ruth'' (Toronto: Fleye Press, 1967; Hamilton: MindWare, 1993)
*''Ballads of the Restless Are'' (Sacramento: The Runcible Spoon Press, 1968)
*''Lament'' (Toronto: Ganglia Press, 1969; London, England, Writers Foum, 1969)
*''The true eventual story of Billy the Kid'' (Toronto: Weed/Flower Press, 1970)
*''Beach Head'' (Sacramento: Runcible Spoon, 1970)
*''ABC: the Aleph Beth Book'' (Toronto: Oberon Press, 1971)
*''Grease Ball Comics 2'' (Toronto: Ganglia Press, 1972)
*''Aleph Unit'' (Toronto: Seripress, 1973)
*''White Sound : a variant'' (Toronto: Ganglia Press, 1976)
*''Scraptures 2nd Sequence: Alternate Takes'' (Vancouver: BCMonthly, 1977)
*''Alphhabet Ilphbet'' (Toronto: Seripress, 1978)
*''Translating translating Apollinaire: a preliminary report'' (Milwaukee: Membrane press, 1979)
*''The Story of the Boat People'' (Toronto: Operation Lifeline, 1980)
*''Extreme Positions'' (Edmonton: Longspoon Press, 1981)
*''Continental Trance'' (Lantzville, BC: Oolichan books, 1982)
*''The Frog Variations'' (Toronto: Curvd H&z, 1983)
*''Transformational Unit'' (self-published in 1983 as a Christmas gift)
*''continuum'' (Toronto: Underwhich Editions, 1984)
*''Critical Frame of Reference'' (Toronto, Pataphysical Hardware Company, 1985; reprinted 1992)
*''8 Lines on/of/as H's + 2 Alpha Pairings'' (Toronto: Letters, 1986; reprinted 1994)
*''Librarians Need A Break'' (Toronto: Underwhich Editions, 1987)
*''Bored Messengers'' (Prince George, B.C: Gorse Press, 1988)
*''Back Lane Letters'' (Toronto: Letters, 1994)
*''Holiday'' (Ottawa: Curvd H&z, 1999)
===Prose===
*''Two Novels'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1971)
*''Craft Dinner'' (Aya Press, 1978)
*''Journal'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1978)
*''Still'' (Vancouver: Pulp Press, winner of the 3-day novel writing contest 1983)
*''Selected Organs: parts of an autobiography'' (Windsor: Black Moss Press, 1988)
* {{cite book |author1=McCaffery, Steve |author2=bpNichol |author-link1=Steve McCaffery |name-list-style=amp |title=Rational geomancy : the kids of the book-machine : the collected research reports of the Toronto Research Group, 1973-1982 |location=Vancouver |publisher=Talonbooks |year=1992 <!--|isbn=-->}}
*''organ music: parts of an autobiography'' ( Windsor: Black Moss Press, 2015)
*''Trois Contes de l'ouest'' (Quebec: Le Quartanier, 2015. Christophe Bernard, translator)
===Television credits===
*''[[Fraggle Rock]]'' (Henson & Associates & CBC TV, 1984–1987)
*''[[Under the Umbrella Tree]]'' (Noreen Young Productions & CBC Television, 1986–1987)
*''[[The Raccoons]]'' (Evergreen Raccoons Ltd, 1986)
*''[[Care Bears]]; [[Babar (TV series)]]'' (Nelvana Studios, 1986–1988)
*''[[Blizzard Island]]'' (Studio East & CBC Television, 1985–1988)
===Critical studies and reviews of Nichol's work===
;''Rational geomancy''
* {{cite journal |author=Mann, Paul |date=Spring 1994 |title=A poetics of its own occasion |journal=Contemporary Literature |volume=35 |issue=1|pages=171–181 |doi=10.2307/1208741 |jstor=1208741 }}
==Related books==
*''bpNichol: What History Teaches'' ([[Stephen Scobie]], Talonbooks, 1984)
*''Read the Way he writes: A festschrift for bpNichol'' (Open Letter, Sixth Series, No. 5-6, 1986)
*''Tracing the Paths: Reading ≠ Writing the Martyrology'' (Line Magazine, No. 10 & Talonbooks, 1988)
*''Rational Geomancy: the collected research reports of the Toronto Research Group 1973-1982'' (Steve McCaffery & bpNichol, Talonbooks, 1992)
*''A Sourcery for Books 1&2 of bpNichol's Martyrology'' (Irene Niechoda, ECW Press, 1992)
*''Meanwhile: the critical writings of bpNichol'' (Roy Miki, ed., Talonbooks, 1992)
*''An H in the Heart: bpNichol: A Reader'' (George Bowering & Michael Ondaatje ed., McClelland & Stewart, 1994.)
*''bpNichol Comics'' (Carl Peters, ed., Talonbooks, 2002)
*''The Alphabet Game: a bpNichol Reader'' (Darren Wershler-Henry & [[Lori Emerson]], ed., Coach House Books, 2007)
==See also==
{{Portal| Poetry| Biography| Canada}}
*[[Canadian literature]]
*[[Canadian poetry]]
*[[List of Canadian poets]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.bpnichol.ca/ bpNichol.ca]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichol, BP}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian poets]]
[[Category:Canadian male poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Vancouver]]
[[Category:Poets from Toronto]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]]
[[Category:Canadian male television writers]]
[[Category:Canadian television writers]]
[[Category:Visual poets]]
[[Category:Dora Mavor Moore Award winners]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from British Columbia]]