Ian Ferrier

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Ian Ferrier
Born1954 (1954)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died3 November 2023(2023-11-03) (aged 68–69)
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Poet
Musician
Choreographer

Ian Ferrier (1954 – 3 November 2023) was a Canadian poet, musician, and choreographer.[1]

Biography[edit]

Born in Montreal in 1954, Ferrier performed numerous shows mixing poetry in Canada and the United States.[2] Montreal environments feature in his first book of poetry, From yr lover like an orchestra, published by Davinci press in 1974.[3] David Lawson of the The Gazette wrote, "most of his collection consists not of observable poems but of paragraphs, sometimes indented, and occasional spare lines, all of which add up to a frankly experimental effect."[4] Louis Dudek, reviewing the book in Anthol, a Montreal literary magazine, acknowledged it as the work of a poet in a "preliminary" stage and called it "a documentary of chaos" whose "poetry ... is not aiming at a higher aesthetic but is drawn down to the messiness of the surrounding environment."[5]

After becoming active in the Montreal spoken word and slam poetry scene in the 1990s, Ferrier grew interested in combining his poetry with music.[6] In 2000, he published a book/CD titled Exploding Head Man with Planète Rebelle [fr]. The work features instrumentation from area musicians, and was a critical success. Ilana Kronick of The Gazette praised the "sonic power" of its "heady, impassioned, sometimes hallucinogenic" poetry and the "smart guitar, bass, percussion and tablas".[6] Hal Niedzviecki reviewed the release for Broken Pencil and the National Post, writing that the "poems/songs merge into each other, become a musical score lament for an absent world" and calling it one of the year's best spoken word releases.[7][8] Live performances of the work combined narration, electric guitar, saxophone, and vocals.[9]

Ferrier was the founder of the record label Wired on Words, dedicated to literary performance.[9] There, he published his first youth audiobook, titled A Child Sees Winter Coming and a Bear Dreams.[2] He also founded the online magazine LitLive.ca, the Mile End Poets’ Festival, and the Words & Music Show, which won a Standard Broadcasting Award in its first year.[10] Involved with the English-speaking world, he organized "spoken words shows" at the Casa del Popolo every month. He was also a choreographer, playing live music for dance shows.[11] For many of his recordings, he collaborated with his band Pharmakon MTL, of which he was a guitarist.[12]

From 2002–2005 he was president of the Quebec Writers' Federation.[13] In 2008 and 2011, Ferrier won the Prix Golden Beret for his work in the spoken word community.[14] He worked as a consulting writer for Concordia University because of his expertise in literary performance.[10] In 2017, a translation of his poems was published by Éditions du Noroît under the title Quel est ce lieu.[15]

Ian Ferrier died on 3 November 2023.[16] Following his death, the Quebec Writers' Federation renamed their prize for spoken word to the Ian Ferrier Spoken Word Prize in Ferrier's honor.[17]

Works[edit]

Poetry[edit]

  • From yr lover like an orchestra (1974)
  • Exploding Head Man (2000)
  • Coming & Going (2015)
  • Bear Dreams (2016)

Youth[edit]

  • A Child Sees Winter Coming and a Bear Dreams (2018)

CDs[edit]

  • What Is This Place ? (2007)
  • To Call Out In The Night (2011)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Swift, Todd (7 November 2023). "Montreal poetry legend Ian Ferrier has died". Black Spring Press Group. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Ian Ferrier". Calgary Spoken Word Festival. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023.
  3. ^ Morrissey, Stephen (2021). "Starting Out from Véhicule Art". Mouse Eggs. 3 (7): 4–5 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Lawson, David (1975-02-15). "The poetry of Montreal". The Gazette. p. 41. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  5. ^ Dudek, Louis (Winter 1975). "DA VINCI PRESS: Four Books - Montreal, 1974". Anthol (4): 42–43. ISSN 0316-2583 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ a b Kronick, Ilana (2000-02-17). "Exploding Head poetry". The Gazette. Montreal. pp. D14. ProQuest 433571116.
  7. ^ Niedzviecki, Hal (Summer 2000). "Ian Ferrier: Exploding Head Man. CD/Book, $20, Wired on Words/Planete rebelle (3958 ave. Laval, Montreal, QC, H2W 2J2)". Broken Pencil (13): 83. ProQuest 1430523918.
  8. ^ Niedzviecki, Hal (2000-01-15). "Get on the road again, please". National Post. p. 15. ProQuest 329676680.
  9. ^ a b "Ian Ferrier". Les Filles électriques (in French).
  10. ^ a b "Writing support". Concordia University. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Ian Ferrier". Regroupement québécois de la danse. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Ian Ferrier". Vancouver Poetry House.
  13. ^ "Remembering Ian Ferrier, Winner of the 2022 Judy Mappin Community Award". Quebec Writers' Federation. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  14. ^ "Ian Ferrier". LitLive.ca. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Ian Ferrier". PoésieGo! (in French).
  16. ^ "Ilay Ian Ferrier". Montreal Gazette.
  17. ^ "The Ian Ferrier Spoken Word Prize". Quebec Writers' Federation. Retrieved 2024-05-04.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ian_Ferrier&oldid=1222252231"