George Swede
Encyclopedia
George Swede (born as Juris Puriņš, November 20, 1940 in Riga
, Latvia
) is a Canadian
psychologist
, poet
and children's writer who lives in Toronto
, Ontario
. He is a major figure in English-language haiku
, known for his wry, poignant observations.
, where he graduated with a B.A.
in Psychology
in 1964. After that, he briefly worked as a psychologist at B.C. Penitentiary in New Westminster. In 1965, he got an M.A.
at Dalhousie University
.
From 1966 to 1967, Swede was a psychology instructor at Vancouver City College
, after which he worked as a school psychologist at the Scarborough
Board of Education in Toronto until 1968.
He resumed his academic career
at Ryerson University
, where he stayed as member of the psychology department from 1968 to 2006 (as chair from 1998 to 2003). Also, from 1970 to 1975 he served as Director for Developmental Psychology at Ryerson Open College, a virtual university
which broadcast lectures by radio (on CJRT-FM
) and TV (CBC
and CTV
) from 1970 to 1975; and from 1993 to 2000 he was engaged in Ryerson University Now (RUN), an initiative to get bright but disadvantaged students interested in going to university. This was achieved by enrolling Vaughan Road Academy
students in a university level introductory psychology course that Swede taught. Most graduated and many received scholarship
s to attend university.
In 2006, Swede retired and became an Emeritus
and, in 2007, was awarded Honorary Life Membership by the Canadian Psychological Association
. For the 2008-2009 term, he was named the Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library in Sacramento, California.
Swede began writing poetry in the late 1960s and published in such journals as
An interest in short form Japanese poetry
began in 1976 when he was asked to review Makoto Ueda's Modern Japanese Haiku (University of Toronto Press, 1976).
Swede then began publishing in such journals as
In 1977, along with Betty Drevniok and Eric Amann, Swede co-founded Haiku Canada. At its 30th anniversary, held in Ottawa in May 2007, Haiku Canada awarded Swede an Honorary Life Membership.
A blending of his interests in poetry and psychology is illustrated by his refereed article in the International Handbook on Innovation, Poetic Innovation, which explores the psychological, sociological and cultural factors that determine whether someone becomes a professional poet.
Swede's work has been reviewed in numerous literary magazines, such as
Reviews and mentions have also appeared in non-literary publications such as
More in depth looks at Swede and his work have occurred in the following places:
Since 2008 he has been editor of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America
.
Swede is married to Anita Krumins, who is a Professor Emerita at Ryerson University, and with whom he has two sons, Juris Krumins, an attorney and naturalist in Washington, D.C., and Andris Krumins, a teacher and musician in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and children's writer who lives in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He is a major figure in English-language haiku
Haiku in English
Haiku in English is a development of the Japanese haiku poetic form in the English language.Contemporary haiku are written in many languages, but most poets outside of Japan are concentrated in the English-speaking countries....
, known for his wry, poignant observations.
Life
In 1947, Swede arrived with his mother and stepfather from post-WW II Europe to live with his maternal grandparents on a fruit farm in Oyama, British Columbia and, when his stepfather died in 1952, Swede moved with his mother to Vancouver where he finished junior high and high school. Then he studied at the University of British ColumbiaUniversity of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, where he graduated with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
in 1964. After that, he briefly worked as a psychologist at B.C. Penitentiary in New Westminster. In 1965, he got an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
at Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
.
From 1966 to 1967, Swede was a psychology instructor at Vancouver City College
Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Community College is a public post-secondary institution in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1965, it is the largest and oldest community college in British Columbia, with over 140 certificate and diploma programs...
, after which he worked as a school psychologist at the Scarborough
Scarborough Village
Scarborough Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the south-central part of the district of Scarborough. Historically, it was one of the earliest settlements in the former Township of Scarborough and was the first region of the township to have its own post office...
Board of Education in Toronto until 1968.
He resumed his academic career
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
at Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
, where he stayed as member of the psychology department from 1968 to 2006 (as chair from 1998 to 2003). Also, from 1970 to 1975 he served as Director for Developmental Psychology at Ryerson Open College, a virtual university
Virtual university
A virtual university provides higher education programs through electronic media, typically the Internet. Some are bricks-and-mortar institutions that provide online learning as part of their extended university courses while others solely offer online courses. They are regarded as a form of...
which broadcast lectures by radio (on CJRT-FM
CJRT-FM
CJRT-FM is a Canadian public radio station, which broadcasts at 91.1 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. CJRT currently operates as JAZZ.FM91.The station transmits at a strength of 40,000 watts; as its transmitter facilities are at the CN Tower...
) and TV (CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
and CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
) from 1970 to 1975; and from 1993 to 2000 he was engaged in Ryerson University Now (RUN), an initiative to get bright but disadvantaged students interested in going to university. This was achieved by enrolling Vaughan Road Academy
Vaughan Road Academy
Vaughan Road Academy is a Toronto District School Board International Baccalaureate school in the Oakwood-Vaughan neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada. Vaughan Road is situated at the Vaughan Road and Winona Drive intersection close to Oakwood Avenue and southwest of Forest Hill. It works in...
students in a university level introductory psychology course that Swede taught. Most graduated and many received scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s to attend university.
In 2006, Swede retired and became an Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
and, in 2007, was awarded Honorary Life Membership by the Canadian Psychological Association
Canadian Psychological Association
The Canadian Psychological Association is the primary organization representing psychologists throughout Canada. It was organized in 1939 and incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act, Part II, in May 1950.Its objectives are:...
. For the 2008-2009 term, he was named the Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library in Sacramento, California.
Swede began writing poetry in the late 1960s and published in such journals as
- Antigonish Review;
- Canadian ForumCanadian ForumThe Canadian Forum was a left-wing literary, cultural and political publication and Canada's longest running continually published political magazine.It was founded in 1920 at the University of Toronto as a forum for political and cultural ideas...
; - Grain;
- New Quarterly;
- Open Letter;
- Piedmont Literary Review;
- Quarry Magazine;
- Rampike;
- Tamarack ReviewTamarack ReviewThe Tamarack Review was a Canadian literary magazine, published from 1956 to 1982. Established and edited by Robert Weaver, other figures associated with the magazine's editorial staff included Anne Wilkinson, William Toye and John Robert Colombo....
; - Toronto LifeToronto LifeToronto Life is a monthly Canadian magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Life also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including Home Decor, Stylebook, Eating & Drinking, Real Estate and Weddings. Established in 1966,...
.
An interest in short form Japanese poetry
Japanese poetry
Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...
began in 1976 when he was asked to review Makoto Ueda's Modern Japanese Haiku (University of Toronto Press, 1976).
Swede then began publishing in such journals as
- Acorn;
- American TankaAmerican TankaAmerican Tanka is a U.S. literary journal devoted to the publication of English language tanka poetry. Founded in 1996, it is edited and published by Laura Maffei and headquartered in Staten Island, New York...
; - Cicada;
- Frogpond;
- Inkstone;
- Mainichi Daily NewsMainichi ShimbunThe is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
, Haiku in English; - Modern Haiku;
- Simply Haiku.
In 1977, along with Betty Drevniok and Eric Amann, Swede co-founded Haiku Canada. At its 30th anniversary, held in Ottawa in May 2007, Haiku Canada awarded Swede an Honorary Life Membership.
A blending of his interests in poetry and psychology is illustrated by his refereed article in the International Handbook on Innovation, Poetic Innovation, which explores the psychological, sociological and cultural factors that determine whether someone becomes a professional poet.
Swede's work has been reviewed in numerous literary magazines, such as
- Canadian LiteratureCanadian Literature (journal)Canadian Literature is a quarterly of criticism and review published out of the University of British Columbia.Canadian Literature was founded in 1959 by George Woodcock, who produced 73 issues before retiring in 1977. After Woodcock's retirement, the University of British Columbia invited William...
; - Books in Canada;
- Canadian Children's Literature.
Reviews and mentions have also appeared in non-literary publications such as
- The Globe and MailThe Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
; - Halifax Herald;
- The New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
; - Ottawa CitizenOttawa CitizenThe Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
; - The Sunday TimesThe Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
; - Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
; - The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
; - Wilson QuarterlyWilson QuarterlyThe Wilson Quarterly is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. The Quarterly is noted for its nonpartisan, nonideological approach to current issues, with articles...
.
More in depth looks at Swede and his work have occurred in the following places:
- Ryerson Magazine;
- Poetry TorontoPoetry TorontoPoetry Toronto was an important Canadian literary magazine for most of the 1980s. The magazine was established by Maria Jacobs and was the vehicle for many up and coming poets for almost a decade....
; - OriginOrigin (magazine)Origin magazine, is an American poetry magazine that was founded in 1951 by Cid Corman. The magazine provided an early platform for the work of Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, Gary Snyder, Theodore Enslin and other important, ground-breaking poets, who collectively created an alternative to academic...
; - CJRT-FM: Contemporary Poets;
- What;
- Canadian Author & BookmanCanadian Author & BookmanThe quarterly Canadian Author & Bookman was the official voice of the CAA until 1998, having undergone a name change to Canadian Author. In 1998, publication was suspended....
; - TVOntarioTVOntarioTVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
: In Conversation With . . .; - Blithe Spirit;
- BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
: Close To Silence; - Amanda Hill on George Swede
- haijinx;
- Simply Haiku;
- Simply Haiku;
- Simply Haiku.
Since 2008 he has been editor of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America
Haiku Society of America
The Haiku Society of America is a non-profit organization composed of haiku poets, editors, critics, publishers and enthusiasts that promotes the composition and appreciation of haiku in English. It was founded in 1968 and sponsors meetings, lectures, workshops, readings and contests...
.
Swede is married to Anita Krumins, who is a Professor Emerita at Ryerson University, and with whom he has two sons, Juris Krumins, an attorney and naturalist in Washington, D.C., and Andris Krumins, a teacher and musician in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.