Bowering, George (1935-…), is an influential and versatile Canadian author. Bowering was appointed Canada’s first Parliamentary Poet Laureate, serving from 2002 to 2004. He was the first English language writer to win the Governor General’s Literary Award in both poetry and fiction. The award is one of the highest national prizes given to Canadian authors.
Bowering has written or edited more than 100 books—novels, short stories, poetry, history, drama, autobiography, and critical essays. He has also edited important literary periodicals. Bowering won his first Governor General’s Literary Award in 1969 for his poetry collections Rocky Mountain Foot (1968) and The Gangs of Kosmos (1969). He won the 1980 Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction in English for his novel Burning Water (1980). The work is based on British explorer George Vancouver’s voyage during the late 1700’s to what is now British Columbia.
George Harry Bowering was born on Dec. 1, 1935, in Penticton, British Columbia. From 1954 to 1957, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as an aerial photographer. He attended the University of British Columbia, receiving a B.A. degree in history in 1960 and an M.A. degree in English in 1963. He helped to found the influential literary magazine TISH in 1961 and to edit it from 1961 to 1963. He also founded and edited Imago (1964-1974), another important literary periodical. Bowering taught at several Canadian universities, including Simon Fraser University from 1972 to 2001. In 2002, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.
