Biography

Rob Taylor was born in Port Moody, BC, and currently lives in Vancouver with his wife, Marta.

He has been writing poetry since 2003, and his poetry has appeared in more than forty journals, magazines and anthologies. His individual poems have won multiple awards, including a longlisting in the Best Canadian Poetry anthology.

His first book of poetry, The Other Side of Ourselves, which was published in April 2011 from Cormorant Books. Prior to publication, the manuscript for the book won the 2010 Alfred G. Bailey Prize.

Rob has also published four chapbooks of poems: splattered earth (2006), Child of Saturday (2008), Lyric (2010) and Smoothing the Holy Surfaces (2012)., the latter two of which were published by The Alfred Gustav Press.

In 2004 he co-founded Simon Fraser University's student poetry zine High Altitude Poetry, and in 2007 he co-founded One Ghana, One Voice, Ghana's first online poetry magazine. He was also the poetry editor at Red Fez from 2007 - 2010.

In 2011 Rob was part of the team that "resurrected" Vancouver's Dead Poets Reading Series, which he still helps operate as one of the coordinators.

Quotes

"The poems here, whether celebrating small moments of tenderness and intimacy, or contemplating the horrors humanity so often visits upon its own, seem to answer the question posed by Mary Oliver in an epigraph that adorns the first section of this book: “how to love this world.” The answer is to find the primal, animal energy that animates our race, and to reflect back to us that energy so that we can more clearly see ourselves, in all our beauty and in all our ugliness."
- Mark Callanan, Alfred G. Bailey Prize Citation

"Rob Taylor’s debut collection... shows considerable talent and imagination. Here is a poet who likes to play with a variety of traditional verse forms as applied to free verse: ghazals, sonnets, haiku, and lyrical poetry. Taylor has a propensity for striking metaphors... Also, he is adept at analogy and allegory... The best of Taylor’s poems are memorably fresh and startling in their simplicity and originality of perspective and approach."
- Gillian Harding-Russell, Prairie Fire

"Evidently constructing his creative career the way he builds a poem — carefully, methodically, and with expertise that demonstrates a deliberate mastery of the trade — Taylor leaves me anxious to see him compose the most challenging monument of all: the full-length book of poetry."
- Deanne Beattie, The Peak

"Another notable in the anthology is Rob Taylor, who proves he is a contender for best amongst the emerging Vancouver poets. His striking narrative-driven piece, “Grey Diamond Wallpaper”, is a prime example of his ability to keep a reader lingering on the final words of his poems."
- Daniel Zomparelli, Poetry is Dead

Awards

Alfred G. Bailey Prize, 2010

subTerrain Lush Triumphant Award for Poetry (runner-up), 2010

OCW Magazine Poem of the Year (co-winner), 2010

Best Canadian Poetry 2011 (longlisted), 2011

Selected Publications

The Fiddlehead: "Transatlantic", "The Exterminator" - Summer 2012 (#252)

Geist: "The Slave Castle of Elmina" - Spring 2012

SubTerrain: "Advent" - Fall 2011 (#59)

SubTerrain: "The Great Ceiling" - Spring 2011 (#58)

SubTerrain: "Early Rain" - Fall 2010 (#56)

The Antigonish Review: "Kitsilano Brewery Stink" - Summer 2010 (#162)

Prairie Fire: "Ouchton Bay, Cape Scott, Kwakiutl Territory", "The Wailing Machines", "Old men at the community pool" - Summer 2010 (Volume 31, 2)

CV2: "The Same Thing" - Spring 2010 (Volume 32, 4)

Riddle Fence: "The Party", "Morning After" - Spring 2010 (#5)

SubTerrain: "Wintering", "Viaticum" - Spring 2009 (#52)

A Verse Map of Vancouver: "Down one at The Nat" - Spring 2009

Rocksalt: An Anthology of Contemporary BC Poetry: "Grey Diamond Wallpaper" - Fall 2008

The Antigonish Review: "What they are doing", "The Slave Castle of Elmina" - Fall 2008 (#154)

The Dalhousie Review: "viciously in our throats" - Autumn 2007 (Volume 87, 3)

Vancouver Review: "the new phoenix" - Spring 2007 (#13)


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	Biography Rob Taylor was born in Port Moody, BC, and currently lives in Vancouver with his wife, Marta. He has been writing poetry since 2003, and his poetry has appeared in more than forty journals, magazines and anthologies. His individual poems have won multiple awards, including a longlisting in the Best Canadian Poetry anthology. His first book of poetry, The Other Side of Ourselves, which was published in April 2011 from Cormorant Books. Prior to publication, the manuscript for the book won the 2010 Alfred G. Bailey Prize. Rob has also published four chapbooks of poems: splattered earth (2006), Child of Saturday (2008), Lyric (2010) and Smoothing the Holy Surfaces (2012)., the latter two of which were published by The Alfred Gustav Press. In 2004 he co-founded Simon Fraser University's student poetry zine High Altitude Poetry, and in 2007 he co-founded One Ghana, One Voice, Ghana's first online poetry magazine. He was also the poetry editor at Red Fez from 2007 - 2010. In 2011 Rob was part of the team that "resurrected" Vancouver's Dead Poets Reading Series, which he still helps operate as one of the coordinators. Quotes "The poems here, whether celebrating small moments of tenderness and intimacy, or contemplating the horrors humanity so often visits upon its own, seem to answer the question posed by Mary Oliver in an epigraph that adorns the first section of this book: “how to love this world.” The answer is to find the primal, animal energy that animates our race, and to reflect back to us that energy so that we can more clearly see ourselves, in all our beauty and in all our ugliness." - Mark Callanan, Alfred G. Bailey Prize Citation "Rob Taylor’s debut collection... shows considerable talent and imagination. Here is a poet who likes to play with a variety of traditional verse forms as applied to free verse: ghazals, sonnets, haiku, and lyrical poetry. Taylor has a propensity for striking metaphors... Also, he is adept at analogy and allegory... The best of Taylor’s poems are memorably fresh and startling in their simplicity and originality of perspective and approach." - Gillian Harding-Russell, Prairie Fire "Evidently constructing his creative career the way he builds a poem — carefully, methodically, and with expertise that demonstrates a deliberate mastery of the trade — Taylor leaves me anxious to see him compose the most challenging monument of all: the full-length book of poetry." - Deanne Beattie, The Peak "Another notable in the anthology is Rob Taylor, who proves he is a contender for best amongst the emerging Vancouver poets. His striking narrative-driven piece, “Grey Diamond Wallpaper”, is a prime example of his ability to keep a reader lingering on the final words of his poems." - Daniel Zomparelli, Poetry is Dead Awards Alfred G. Bailey Prize, 2010 subTerrain Lush Triumphant Award for Poetry (runner-up), 2010 OCW Magazine Poem of the Year (co-winner), 2010 Best Canadian Poetry 2011 (longlisted), 2011 Selected Publications The Fiddlehead: "Transatlantic", "The Exterminator" - Summer 2012 (#252) Geist: "The Slave Castle of Elmina" - Spring 2012 SubTerrain: "Advent" - Fall 2011 (#59) SubTerrain: "The Great Ceiling" - Spring 2011 (#58) SubTerrain: "Early Rain" - Fall 2010 (#56) The Antigonish Review: "Kitsilano Brewery Stink" - Summer 2010 (#162) Prairie Fire: "Ouchton Bay, Cape Scott, Kwakiutl Territory", "The Wailing Machines", "Old men at the community pool" - Summer 2010 (Volume 31, 2) CV2: "The Same Thing" - Spring 2010 (Volume 32, 4) Riddle Fence: "The Party", "Morning After" - Spring 2010 (#5) SubTerrain: "Wintering", "Viaticum" - Spring 2009 (#52) A Verse Map of Vancouver: "Down one at The Nat" - Spring 2009 Rocksalt: An Anthology of Contemporary BC Poetry: "Grey Diamond Wallpaper" - Fall 2008 The Antigonish Review: "What they are doing", "The Slave Castle of Elmina" - Fall 2008 (#154) The Dalhousie Review: "viciously in our throats" - Autumn 2007 (Volume 87, 3) Vancouver Review: "the new phoenix" - Spring 2007 (#13)
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