Catherine Owen is a Vancouver poet who completed her BA and MA at SFU (1997–2001) in English Literature, writing her thesis on poet Robinson Jeffers. She is the author of nine collections of poetry and has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Owen has been nominated for a variety of awards including the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, the ReLit Award, the Gerald Lampert Award, and in 2009 her poetry book Frenzy won the Alberta Literary Award.
Owen’s most recent book of poetry is Trobairitz, published by Anvil Press and released Oct. 27, 2012. Inspired by the metal scene and her extensive research of medieval culture, Trobairitz has both a 12th and 21st-century flair. Owen has in-depth experience with both subjects: she was in metal bands in Vancouver and Edmonton for eight years, and researched medieval culture for six years.
“It was compelled by my desire to write poems on the disparities between male and female creators in the [metal] scene, as well as by the music within medieval poetic forms,” She says about Trobairitz. A “trobairitz” is a female troubadour from the twelfth century.
Following the launch, Owen went on a 10-date tour across Canada, performing and selling copies of the book and other Trobairitz merchandise. She is excited about many things coming down the pipeline for the book, as well as other projects. A woman of many talents, Owen is not only an author and musician, she is also a photographer and model.
“[Currently] I am working on a collection of poems about the Fraser River, a blackened-doom [heavy metal] project called Medea, some essays on grief, and a photographic collaboration with Paul Saturley known as Pandemonium.”
Colin Browne is a professor at SFU’s School of Contemporary Arts, in addition to being a published author and a documentary filmmaker oft invited to national and international festivals. Browne is a pivotal individual in the local arts scene, co-founding organizations such as the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters, the Audio-Visual Heritage Association of BC, and the Kootenay School of Writing.
Browne completed his MA in English at SFU, and uses poetry to articulate how he perceives the world and the places around him. Early on in life, he was inspired by Dylan Thomas, Kenneth Patchen, and Robinson Jeffers. Browne’s work has been nominated for the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, and his most recent book of poetry, The Properties, was published with Talonbooks this spring. In the book’s introduction, Browne writes, “Poetry begins when the properties of things — and the correspondences among them — reveal themselves through language. . . . All times and places exist simultaneously.”
“For me, history always has one foot in the personal, intimate history of a family.” Several poems continue the examination of the documentary form begun in The Shovel (Talonbooks, 2007).
Browne is already working on his next book of poetry, which will examine “the surrealiste fascination with Northwest coast and Alaskan art,” an area he’s been researching for several years.
“Last year [I] wrote a catalogue essay for the VAG’s surrealiste exhibition The Colour of My Dreams entitled ‘Scavengers of Paradise,’ ” says Browne. “I have a feeling the book will have the same title.”
Browne teaches the School of Contemporary Arts’ fourth-year film production courses, screenwriting, film studies and critical writing in the arts.
