Todd Swift
Encyclopedia
Todd Swift is a Canadian poet
, editor, cultural activist and university lecturer based in the United Kingdom
.
Swift was born in Montreal, Quebec
, Canada
, and raised in Saint-Lambert
, Quebec. He received a B.A.
in English
from Concordia University (Montreal) and an M.A.
in Creative Writing
from the University of East Anglia
.
While attending university, Swift was one of Canada's most successful parliamentary debaters. He was President of the Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate
and twice won the award for Top Speaker at the McGill University
Winter Carnival Debating Tournament, as well as many other awards.
Swift is the author or editor of numerous collections of poetry. His works have been translated into Arabic, Croatian
, Dutch
, French
, German
, Hungarian
and Korean
. He has written for a number of publications, poems and reviews appearing in journals such as The Dubliner, The Globe and Mail
, Books In Canada, Poetry London
and The Guardian
.
Since 2004 he has been Oxfam
Great Britain's Poet-in-residence. He is a core tutor with The Poetry School. He is a lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature at Kingston University, England.
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...
, editor, cultural activist and university lecturer based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Swift was born in Montreal, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
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...
, and raised in Saint-Lambert
Saint-Lambert, Quebec
Saint-Lambert is a Canadian city in the province of Quebec located opposite Montreal on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. Saint-Lambert was named for either the early French Canadian hunter Lambert Closse or for Roman Catholic Bishop Lambert of Maastricht...
, Quebec. He received 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 English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
from Concordia University (Montreal) and 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...
in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
from the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
.
While attending university, Swift was one of Canada's most successful parliamentary debaters. He was President of the Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate
Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate
The Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate is the national organization which governs all competitive university debating and public speaking in Canada. It sanctions several official annual tournaments and represents Canadian debating domestically and abroad...
and twice won the award for Top Speaker at the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
Winter Carnival Debating Tournament, as well as many other awards.
Swift is the author or editor of numerous collections of poetry. His works have been translated into Arabic, Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
and Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
. He has written for a number of publications, poems and reviews appearing in journals such as The Dubliner, The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The 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...
, Books In Canada, Poetry London
Poetry London
Poetry London is a London-based literary periodical. As Poetry London: A Bi-Monthly of Modern Verse and Criticism it was founded by Tambimuttu and the first issue was dated January/February 1939.In a new form the magazine is still in print....
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Since 2004 he has been Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
Great Britain's Poet-in-residence. He is a core tutor with The Poetry School. He is a lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature at Kingston University, England.
Poetry (selected pamphlets)
- The End of the Century - 1990
- The Cone of Silence - 1991
- American Standard - 1996
- Elegy for Anthony Perkins - 2001
- The Oil and Gas University - 2004
- Natural Curve - 2006
Poetry (full collections)
- Budavox - 1999
- Café Alibi - 2002
- Rue du Regard - 2004
- Winter Tennis - 2007
- Seaway: New and Selected Poems - 2008
- Mainstream Love Hotel - 2009
- Experimental Sex Hospital - 2010 (e-book)
Anthologies
- Map-makers' Colours: New Poets of Northern Ireland - 1988 (with Martin Mooney)
- Poetry Nation: The North American Anthology of Fusion Poetry - 1998 (with Regie Cabico)
- Short Fuse: The Global Anthology of New Fusion Poetry - 2002 (with Phil Norton)
- 100 Poets Against the War - 2003
- In the Criminal's Cabinet - 2004
- Future Welcome: The Moosehead Anthology X - 2005
- Life Lines: Poets for Oxfam - 2006 (Audio CD)
- Life Lines 2: Poets for Oxfam - 2007 (Audio CD)
- Poems For Children: Michael Rosen and friends, 41 Poets for Oxfam - 2008 (Audio CD, with Judith Nicholls)
- Asking A Shadow To Dance: 35 Young British Poets For Oxfam - 2009 (DVD)
- Modern Canadian Poets: An Anthology - 2010 (with Evan JonesEvan JonesEvan Jones may refer to:*Evan John Jones , U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania*Evan Jones , American actor*Evan Jones , Canadian interactive producer...
)