B. P. Nichol
Barrie Phillip Nichol, known by his pen name bpNichol, was a prominent Canadian poet born in Vancouver in 1944. He made significant contributions to experimental poetry, particularly concrete poetry, which emphasizes the visual arrangement of text to enhance meaning. Nichol's literary journey began after a brief stint as a teacher and continued after he relocated to Toronto in 1963, where he engaged with other poets and began developing his own unique style. His major poetic work, *The Martyrology*, spans several books published over two decades, showcasing his innovative approach to language and myth.
Nichol's accolades include the Governor General's Award for poetry in 1971, recognizing his diverse works that include lyric poetry, comic poetry, and contributions to anthologies. Not only a poet, he collaborated with other performance poets in a group called the Four Horsemen and was featured in films that documented his artistic evolution. In addition to adult poetry, Nichol wrote children's verse and mixed-genre works, reflecting his versatility as a writer. He passed away in 1988, but his legacy continues to influence the landscape of Canadian poetry.
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Subject Terms
B. P. Nichol
Poet
- Born: September 30, 1944
- Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Died: 1988
Biography
Barrie Phillip Nichol was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1944. He was the son of G. F. and Avis Aileen Workman Nichol. The family moved around western Canada, settling back in Vancouver when Nichol was fifteen. He attended the University of British Columbia for a year, gaining a license to teach, which he did for one year. In 1963 he moved to Toronto, where he lived the rest of his life.
Nichol first worked at the University of Toronto Library, then in 1966 he began training as a therapist at Therafields, a lay therapeutic community. In 1968 he met Eleanor Hiebert. They lived together, then married in 1980 shortly after the stillbirth of their first child. In 1981, they had a daughter. Nichol died in 1988.
Nichol, whose nom de plume was written bpNichol, was noted mainly for his contribution to experimental poetry in Canada, especially concrete poetry—a kind of visual poetry where the typographical setting of the words makes a shape that contributes to the meaning of the poem. While still working at the University of Toronto, he had linked up with other concrete poets and become internationally known. His first general appearance was as a contributor to the anthology New Wave Canada in 1966. In 1967 he had a box, rather than a book, published, titled merely bp. It consisted of a record of early sound poems, an envelope of visual poems and shapes, and a small book of verse about the Canadian landscape.
It was at this time he embarked on his lifetime’s major poetic project, The Martyrology. Books one and two were published in 1973; three and four in 1976; five in 1982; six in 1987; and the final one, titled Gifts: The Martyrology, Book(s) Seven and /, after his death, in 1990. The entire cycle represents his engagement with words, letters, language, and languages in a mythic and experimental way, where categories and barriers are constantly transgressed.
In 1971, Nichol won the Governor General’s Award for poetry for four short works published the year before: a book of lyric poetry, Beach Head; a comic poem; The True Eventual Story of Billy the Kid, an anthology of Canadian concrete poetry he had edited; and a box of cards, Still Water, with minimalist texts for meditation. Further volumes of verse followed in quick succession. In 1970 Michael Ondaatje, whom Nichol knew well, produced a film on him titled Sons of Captain Poetry. Nichol had began working with three other performance poets in a group called the Four Horsemen, and the film records some of their performances.
In the 1970’s, Nichol worked a great deal with Steve McCaffery in the journal Open Letter, detailing their poetic theory and practice. In 1980, he collected some of his writing in As Elected: Selected Writing, 1962-1979, which gave a good overview of his progress so far. After the birth of his daughter, he began writing children’s verse, such as Giants, Moosequakes, and Other Disasters (1985). He also wrote a mixed-genre work, Craft Dinner: Stories and Texts, 1966-1976 (1978). In 1998 another film was made about him, bp/pushing the boundaries, a title that is also a significant epitaph.