Steven Ross Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smith performing at the 2010 Calgary International Spoken Word Festival | |
| Born | June 25, 1945 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Poet, sound poet, fiction and non-fiction writer, arts journalist, editor. |
| Alma mater | Ryerson Polytechnical Institute |
| Period | 1972 to present |
| Genre | Poetry, fiction, arts journalism |
| Notable works | fluttertongue Book 1, The Book of Games (1998); fluttertongue Book 2, The Book of Emmett (1999); fluttertongue 3: disarray (2005); fluttertongue 4: adagio for the pressured surround (2007); fluttertongue 5: Everything Appears to Shine with Mossy Splendour (2011); "Emanations: Fluttertongue 6". |
Steven Ross Smith (born June 25, 1945) is a Canadian poet, sound poet, fiction writer, arts journalist and arts activist. He is best known for his fluttertongue poems, which have been published in six volumes. One of them, fluttertongue 3: disarray, won the 2005 Book of the Year Award at the Saskatchewan Book Awards.[1] The fluttertongue poems have been described as a dance with words that pushes the boundaries of both language and poetry.[2]
Smith is also known for his vigorous live performances of sound poetry. He has contributed to more than a dozen recordings including Homo Sonorous: An International Anthology of Sound Poetry released by the National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Kaliningrad, Russia, (2001), Revolutions, A Compilation of Saskatchewan Sound Works, (2000) and Carnivocal: A Celebration of Sound Poetry (1999).[3][4] From 1992 to 2000, Smith performed with DUCT, the improvisatory sound and music ensemble he founded. He was also a member of the sound/performance ensemble Owen Sound from 1975 to 1985.[5]
Smith's poetry first appeared in 1972 in the blewointment press anthology, what isint tantrik speshul, and his first chapbook, White Cycle, came out in 1977. In all, he has published nine books of poetry and two volumes of fiction. In 2006, Smith also published a collection of his newspaper profiles of 40 Saskatchewan artists.[6] In 2015 he published "Emanations: Fluttertongue 6" with Toronto's BookThug.
In 1996 and 1997, Smith served as writer-in-residence at the Saskatoon Public Library. From 1990 to 2008, he was Executive Director of the Sage Hill Writing Experience, a ten-day summer school in Saskatchewan for professional writers. Smith was Director of Literary Arts at the Banff Centre from 2008 to 2014. Since June 2018 he has been Banff Poet Laureate, both in Banff and as of 2020, at-large, carrying out initiatives for Banff and beyond, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where he now lives.
- ^ News staff. "Encyclopedia wins 3", The Leader-Post (Regina). November 26, 2005, p.A7.
- ^ Robertson, Bill. "Two very different perspectives," The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), May 26, 2007. p.E7.
- ^ amazon.ca. ASIN 0889952108.
- ^ "fluttertongue". Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ^ "fluttertongue". Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ^ Staff column. "Footnotes", The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), April 29, 2006, p.E8.