ROBERT PRIEST: POET, NOVELIST, SINGER/SONGWRITER, YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR, PLAYWRIGHT AND JOURNALIST
Born in 1951 in the UK, Robert Priest, is the author of 17 books of poetry, 3 plays, 2 novels, 7 music CDS, 2 hit songs, 1 screenplay (with Jaymz Bee) many columns for Toronto’s Now Magazine, and numerous pieces for CBC Radio’s hit spoken word show “Wordbeat” under the alias “Dr Poetry”. His passionate poetry for adults is wide-ranging and much praised, while his children’s poetry moves from humour through lyric celebrations of inspiring historical figures. Canadian novelist Barbara Gowdy has described him as “the voice of the people and the angels, entwined” and the Pacific Rim Review has said “He is certainly one of the most imaginatively inventive poets in the country.” Priest’s plays, novels and songs, have earned him beloved status in Canada, as well as a growing legion of readers (and listeners) world wide.
“Poetry full of flashes of insight. Imaginative in a strange way, he takes inordinate chances with logic, countering absurdity with absurdity, and expanding our sense of human emotional possibilities.”
– The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature
Robert Priest is one of the few Canadians to have achieved bestseller status as both a songwriter and a poet. The fiery rock ballad, Song Instead Of A Kiss, co-authored with Nancy Simmonds and rock diva Alannah Myles, spent two weeks at the top of the Canadian charts and still receives airplay around the world. His recent co-write with indigenous artists Julian Taylor rose to #4 on the CBC’s charts.
His book of poetry, Reading The Bible Backwards, rose to Number 2 on the Globe and Mail’s poetry charts, its sales exceeded only by those of Leonard Cohen. A performance video of Robert singing his song One Crumb has more than 110,000 hits on YouTube.
Robert writes passionate love songs, hilarious raps, and incisive topical political protest songs, and has co-written with many well-known artists including Alanis Morissette, Alannah Myles, The Jitters, Tom Cochran, Marc Jordan, Staggered Crossing, Melanie Doane, John Capek and composer Srul Irving Glick. Robert has entertained on live radio and tv, and for live audiences around the world.
Robert lives in Toronto with Marsha Kirzner.
COMPLETE RESUME
Born July 10, 1951, Walton–on–Thames England, to Edward and Beatrice Priest.
Attended Fairmount Public School (Scarborough Ont.), Galloway Road Public School, West Hill Collegiate Institute, University of Waterloo.
Writer in Residence: Vancouver Public Library October 1981, Parry Sound Public Library, 1985, 1986, Ganaraska Writers Colony 1986, 1987, Canadore College 1983, 1997, Writers In Electronic Residence, OISE 1992-2012, OAC playwright residency Mixed Company Theatre 1990.
Mentoring: He has officially mentored writers through The League Of Poets, The Writers Union, Toronto Street Poets and the Academy of the Impossible, 1995 to 2012.
Teaching: Ryerson Polytechnic Institute, 1994; Toronto School of Writing, 1992-1994; Song Lyric Writing Course, U. of T. School of Continuing Education, 2005 to 2006; Artists/Writers in the Schools 1976 to 2012, from Junior K to college-level.
Editing: The Tyranny Of Love, Nik Beat, Seraphim Press, Monster Jam and many other student anthologies including several years of WIER Taps for the writers in electronic residence program both print and online versions.
Milton Acorn Memorial People’s Poetry Award for The Mad Hand, 1984.
Our Choice award for Knights Of The Endless Day, 1995.
Our Choice award for The Ballad Of The Blue Bonnet, 1997.
Chalmers Playwright award for Minibugs And Microchips 1998.
SOCAN airplay award for Song Instead of a Kiss 2001.
The Canadian Festival Of Spoken Word Poet Of Honour Award 2011.
Poetry collections:
The Visible Man, Unfinished Monument Press 1979.
Sadness Of Spacemen, Dreadnaught Press.
The Man Who Broke Out Of The Letter X, Coach House Press 1984.
The Mad Hand, Coach House Press 1988.
Scream Blue Living: Selected Poems, The Mercury Press 1992.
The Time Release Poems, Ekstasis 1994.
Resurrection In The Cartoon, ECW Press 1997.
Blue Pyramids: Selected Poems, ECW Press 2002.
How To Swallow A Pig: Selected Poems, ECW Press 2004.
Reading The Bible Backwards, ECW Press 2008.
Previously Feared Darkness, ECW Press 2013.
If I Didn’t Love the River, ECW Press 2022
Poetry for Children:
The Ruby Hat, Aya Press 1984.
Ten Big Babies, Black Moss Press 1982.
A Terrible Case of the Stars, Puffin 1992.
The Ballad Of The Blue Bonnett, Groundwood Books.
Day Songs Night Songs, Groundwood Books.
The Secret Invasion of Bananas, Cherubim 1996.
Rosa Rose, Wolsak & Wynn 2013.
The Wolf is Back, Wolsak & Wynn 2017.
Novels and Story book for Children and Young Adults:
The Short Hockey Career Of Amazing Jany, 1983.
Knights of the Endless Day, Viking, Penguin, 1995.
The Paper Sword, Dundurn Press, 2014.
Second Kiss, Dundurn Press, 2015
Missing Piece, Dundurn Press, 2016
Plays:
Sweet-And-Sour Angel Wings, 1992, University of Hawaii.
The Coming: 1988 the Caravan Theater Company, Kingston, the du Maurier Theatre, Harbourfront 1990.
Knights Of The Endless Day, Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, 1994.
Minibugs And Microchips Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, 1997.
Song Recordings:
The Robert Priest E.P., 1981, Airwave Records.
Rottweiler Pacifist, 1988, Coach House/The Music Gallery.
Congo Toronto, 1986, Big Face Records.
Broken Star/Can’t Say Goodbye, 1987, A Major Label.
Joy Junkie 88, 1988, now on streaming Services
Song Instead of a Kiss, 1992, Rocking Horse, Atlantic Records, Alannah Myles.
Tongue ‘n’ Groove, 1997, EMI.
One Crumb, 2008, song video on YouTube, 100,000 hits .
Feeling The Pinch, 2012, Bradstreet Records.
BAAM! 2017, Spotify
Love is Hard, 2022 available on streaming services world-wide
People Like You and Me, Vesuvius dues out in Feb 2024
Song recordings for children:
Summerlong, G-tel records, 1984.
Lullabies And Play Songs, Waterlily Music, 1987.
Winterlong, Waterlily Music, 1989.
Day Songs Night Songs, audiotape Groundwood Books.
Performance Videos and Web Platforms
Congo Toronto, 1986.
Tell Someone, 1987.
Still Can’t Say Goodbye, 1988.
Broken Star, 1989.
Poem Painter 2000, ten poetry videos in a web platform.
Doctor Poetry 2005, Web avatar dispenser of aphorisms.
Oh Canada for Dummies, eh and other songs commissioned for CBC Sunday Night News.
TV and video for Children:
Robot Odour, 1983,Vidkids.
The Bottie, 1983, Vidkids.
We Share the Air, Sesame Park 1988.
Planet Green, Sesame Street 1989.
Safety Mice, Sesame Street 1990.
Home, Sesame Street 1991.
Screenplay:
Knights of the Endless Day, 1991, unproduced.
Radio:
Summerlong, a ten episode story & song cycle: Morningside, 1981
Is Anybody Home, Resident Songwriter CBC radio 1982 to 1984.
Dr. Poetry, thirteen segments for Wordbeat, CBC, 2004-2005.
Journalism:
Cultural Writing for Now Magazine, 1997-2012.
About:
That’s Why I’m Talking, film by Bronwen Wallace, 1985.
The Writing Life, Tickle Scratch Productions 2004.
Heart Of A Poet, Bravo/Book Television 2007
The Big Bridge: a retrospective of Robert Priest’s writing spring 2013
Address:
197 1/2 Jones Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M4M 3A2, Canada
e-mail: robertpriest@rogers.com
FESTIVALS WHERE ROBERT PRIEST HAS PERFORMED
Winterfolk
The Kensington Jazz Festival
Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, The Canadian Festival of the Spoken Word in Toronto and Festival Voix d’Amerique in Montreal. He has also delivered the word at the Overload Festival in Melbourne Australia, the Kacat Kabaret in Budapest, the Free the Word Festival in Stockholm Sweden, the International Authors Festival in Toronto, the Cambridge Children’s Festival, The Vancouver Writer’s Festival, The Winnipeg Writer’s Festival, The Acorn Festival, the Mariposa Folk Festival, the Hillside Festival, The Eaglewood Folk Festival, The Ottawa Literary Festival, Eden Mills Festival, the Leacock Festival, the Berkley Slam, the Couchiching Think Tank and Toronto’s North by North East, Mariposa 2012.