About Me
Born in Ontario, Canada, I had a rather different childhood than most people. My experiences as an adult have also been somewhat different from other people's experiences. That sounds like the beginning of a novel. At least, that's what I thought at the age of ten when I decided I would be a writer.
In 1979, I released To A Young Horse (Borealis), my first book of poetry, followed by The Body Labyrinth (Coach House) in 1984. I also joined the League of Canadian Poets in 1982. At the first AGM I attended Bronwen Wallace and Erin Moure suggested I run for Chair of the Feminist Caucus. I had a different idea of feminism, believing men needed to be included or it would always be an us/them situation. On the heels of The Body Labyrinth I released two audio tapes: Tape 5 (Gallery 101 Productions, 1985) and Black Moths (Public Energies, 1986). By now, I was firmly immersed in the world of creative writing in Canada, penning poems, stories, articles and book reviews, though I wasn't publishing any of my stories. That was odd, because I thought of myself as a novelist in the making.
I first strayed from my focus on writing when I earned my B.A. (Indigenous Studies, Laurentian), followed by a B.Ed (P/J focus, U of T), rounded out with a Certificate in Magazine Journalism (Ryerson), and then a thesis-focused M.Ed (Indigenous Education, York) and finally a D.Ed (Indigenous Education, UBC). At one point I felt like the eternal student. I realized my writing had been changed dramatically by my involvement in academia and worried I'd never recover my true creative spark.
When I was hired as an elementary school teacher, it set my writing career even further aside. Being a teacher consumed me. However, in January 2006 I created an international E-Zine called Big Pond Rumours as a way of staying in touch with my passion for writing, I also released a chapbook called Black Moths (BPR Press, 2006). I retired from teaching in 2016 to focus on my writing and released two other chapbooks: The Great Hoop Dance (BPR Press, 2016) and Odyssey and Other Poems (BPR Press, 2017). Unfortunately, I found that reviving my creative writing career was not fully accomplished until I retired my beloved E-Zine in 2019.
I have since released four full-sized books. In 2019, Naming The Shadows (The Porcupine's Quill), a collection of short fiction, and a cross genre history called The Name Unspoken: Wandering Spirit Survival School (Big Pond Rumours Press) were published. This was followed in 2020 by Stars in the Junkyard (Cyberwit), a double-sized collection of poetry, and Before The Heart Went Down: Selected Poems by Robert Billings (Cyberwit) which includes 12 previously uncollected works.
I am now working on at least four more books, though not all at once. There is my debut novel, Tell That To Picasso, which I have just sent out to make its round with various publishers. I've also just sent out my 4th poetry manuscript on a hunt for publication. Plus, I am in the process of collecting enough stories for a second collection of short fiction, and I've got a Youth novel composed of linked stories. To date, my work has been published all across Canada, in the USA, Mexico, Wales, England, the Netherlands, India, Germany, Singapore, and Australia.
​
Above, that is me with my Mom at about nine months old.
Below is a photograph from our summer holidays on Musselman Lake in Ontario. I am sitting beside Mom, with Cathi and Daniel in behind us.
Below, this is me on a beach in Ontario in 2018. Photo by:
Tom Gannon Hamilton
