George Swede (, born as Juris Puriņš, November 20, 1940 in Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian Canadian psychologist, poet and children's writer who lives in Toronto, Ontario. He is a major figure in English-language haiku, known for his wry, poignant observations.
Life In 1947, Swede arrived with his mother and stepfather from post-WW II Europe to live with his maternal grandparents on a fruit farm in Oyama, British Columbia. When his stepfather died in 1950, Swede moved with his mother to Vancouver, where he finished junior high and high school.https://web.archive.org/web/20071201203115/http://www.themercurypress.ca/?q=books%2Fimagination_action , Swede, G. Tracks in the Sand: Why Do We Write? pp. 56-61 Then he studied at the University of British Columbia, where he graduated with a B.A. in Psychology in 1964. After that, he worked briefly as a psychologist at B.C. Penitentiary in New Westminster. In 1965, he earned an M.A. at Dalhousie University with a published thesis.Swede, G. & McNulty, J. "The influence of contextual cues upon the learning and retention of paired associates." Canadian Journal of Psychology, 1967, 21 (5), 394-408.
From 1966 to 1967, Swede was a psychology instructor at Vancouver City College, after which he worked as a school psychologist at the Scarborough Board of Education in Toronto until 1968.
He resumed his academic career at Ryerson University, where he stayed as member of the psychology department from 1968 to 2006 (as chair from 1998 to 2003). From 1970 to 1975 he served as Director for Developmental Psychology at Ryerson Open College, a virtual university which broadcast lectures by radio (on CJRT-FM) and TV (CBC and CTV) from 1970 to 1975; and from 1993 to 2000 he was engaged in Ryerson University Now (RUN), an initiative to get bright but disadvantaged students interested in going to university. This was achieved by enrolling Vaughan Road Academy students in a university level introductory psychology course that Swede taught. Most graduated, and many received scholarships to attend university.
Swede was named the honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives for the 2008-09 term in recognition of his contributions to haiku at the California State Library in Sacramento, California.
The George Swede Papers, thus far from 1968 to 2023, are at the Fisher Library, University of Toronto.Fisher Library, University of Toronto His papers are also held at the Archives & Special Collections, Toronto Metropolitan University.
Swede began writing free verse in the late 1960s, and was published in journals including:
Antigonish Reviewhttp://www.antigonishreview.com/ , 1978, No.33 Canadian Forum;1974, No. 644; 1976, No. 665 Grain1976, 4:3 New Quarterlyhttp://www.tnq.ca/ , 1984, 4:2 Open Letterhttp://publish.uwo.ca/~fdavey/history.htm , 1999, 10:6 Piedmont Literary Review1984, 9:1 Quarry Magazine1970, Vol. 19:2; 1971, Vol. 20:2; 1974, Vol.23:3; 1985, 34:1 Rampikehttp://web4.uwindsor.ca/rampike , 1986, Vol. 4:2&3, 5:1; 1988, Vol. 6:2; 1998, 10:1; 1999, Vol. 10:2 Tamarack Review1971, No. 58 Toronto Lifehttps://secure.indas.on.ca/care/tlm/subscribe.php3?key=C08CGS , June, 1981
Swede's interest in the haiku began in 1976 when he was asked to review Makoto Ueda's Modern Japanese Haiku (University of Toronto Press, 1976).Swede, G. Tracks in the Sand: Why Do We Write? In Carol Malyon (ed.). Imagination in Action. Toronto: Mercury Press, 2007, p.59
Swede then began publishing in such journals as:
Acornhttp://home.earthlink.net/~missias/Acorn.html , 2004, No. 12 to present American Tankahttp://www.americantanka.com/ , 1996, No. 1 to present Cicada1977, 1:1 to 1981, 5:1 Frogpondhttp://www.hsa-haiku.org/frogpond/index.html , 1982, 5:1 to the present Industrial Sabotage1982, issue 9, 16 issues through to issue 56, 1998 Inkstone1982, 1:1 to 1991, 5:1 Mainichi Shimbun, Haiku in Englishhttp://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/haiku/archive/news/2009/08/20090721p2g00m0fe036000c.html , March 1, 1982 to present Modern Haikuhttp://www.modernhaiku.org/ , 1977, 8:3 to the present Simply Haikuhttp://www.simplyhaiku.com/ , 2003, No. 3 to 2008, No. 1
In 1977, along with Betty Drevniok and Eric Amann, Swede co-founded Haiku Canada. At its 30th anniversary held in Ottawa in May 2007, Haiku Canada awarded Swede an honorary life membership. In an interview with Alok Mishra, editor-in-chief of Ashvamegh, Swede spoke about the poets who have influenced him, including Dylan Thomas, Leonard Cohen, and Ezra Pound.
Swede combined his interests in poetry and psychology when he published an article revealing the influences, starting in childhood, that motivate someone to become a poet.Swede, G. "Poetic Innovation" in L. V. Shavinina (ed.), The International Handbook on Innovation. Oxford, UK: Pergamon, 2003, 471-484. The International Handbook on Innovation
Reviews of Swede's work have appeared in numerous literary magazines as well as publications that emphasize literary criticism:
Canadian Literaturehttp://www.canlit.ca/search.php?cmd=search&words=%5Cgeorge+swede&mode=fulltext&formsearch=Search , 1985, No. 104; 1986, No. 111; 2001, No. 168; 2004, No. 183 Books in Canadahttp://www.booksincanada.com/ , January, 1979 (by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco); 1984, 13:10, 1989, 18:3 Canadian Children's Literaturehttp://ccl.uwinnipeg.ca/ , 1986, No. 41; 1990, No. 59 (by Bert Almon); 1992, No. 67; 2003, Nos. 109-110
In-depth analyses of Swede's work have appeared in the following periodicals:
Ryerson Magazine1975, 1:2 Poetry Toronto1981, No. 69 Origin1982, 12:1 CJRT-FM: Contemporary Poetshttp://www.jazz.fm/ , Part 1, January 5, 1984 (two hours); Part 2, January 12, 1984 (two hours) What;December, 1985 Canadian Author & Bookman1992, 67:3 TVOntario: In Conversation With . . ., September 21, 1992 (45 minutes) Blithe Spirit1999, 9:2 BBC Radio 3: Close To Silencebbc.co.uk , (with Stephen Gill) August 25, 2000 Amanda Hill on George Swede, Spring, 2001 haijinx, March, 2001 Simply Haikuhttp://www.simplyhaiku.com/SHv1n3/swede.html , 2003, 1:3http://simplyhaiku.com/SHv2n1/tanka/swede.html , 2004, 2:1http://www.simplyhaiku.com/SHv4n4/senryu/senryuFeature.html , 2006, 4:4 Hirschfield, R.″George Swede: Haiku Master & Secular Contemplative″ Beshara MagazineIssue 22, 2022, United Kingdom, 15 pars. Hirschfield, R. ″Discovering George Swede: The Timeless World of Haiku.″ ″3rd Act Magazine″ Winter 2022/23, U.S.A., 21 pars. Hirschfield, R. "The Haiku Journey of a Secular Contemplative."Parabola (magazine)| 2023, Vol. 48, No. 2, Summer, pp. 74-76 Hirschfield, R. "The Death Haiku of George Swede.""Evergreen Review (magazine)" 2024, S/S 2024, U.S.A., 14 pars.
Swede's major editorial position was from 2008 to 2012 as editor of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America.
Awards Co-winner, High/Coo Press Mini-Chapbook Competition, 1982 for All of Her Shadows Museum of Haiku Literature Award, Frogpond, 5:4, 1983 Museum of Haiku Literature Award, Frogpond, 8:2, 1985 "Our Choice", Canadian Children's Book Centre, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1992 Museum of Haiku Literature Award, Frogpond, 15:2, 1992 First prize, Mainichi Daily News Haiku Contest in English, 1994 Second prize, Mainichi Daily News 125th Anniversary Haiku Contest, 1997 Third prize, Harold G. Henderson Haiku Contest, Haiku Society of America, 1997 First prize, The Snapshot Press Tanka Collection Competition 2005 for First Light, First Shadows Associate, The Haiku Foundation, 2008 Honorary Curator, American Haiku Archives, 2008/09 Second prize, Mainichi Daily News Haiku Contest in English, 2008 Scorpion Prize, "Roadrunner" 2010, 10:1, judged by Marjorie Perloff Second prize (Tokusen), Foreign Language Category, Kusamakura International Haiku Competition, 2010 Honorable mention, Touchstone Book Awards 2010 for Joy In Me Still Grand prize (Taisho), Foreign Language Category, Kusamakura International Haiku Competition, 2011 First honorable mention, Kanterman Book Awards 2011 for Joy In Me Still Scorpion Prize, "Roadrunner" 2012, 12:2, judged by Mark Wallace Honorable mention, Touchstone Book Awards 2014 for micro haiku: three to nine syllableshttp://www.thehaikufoundation.org/touchstone-archive-2014 Honorable mention, Mildred Kanterman Merit Book Award, Haiku Society of America, 2015, for micro haiku: three to nine syllables First prize, Mildred Kanterman Merit Book Award, Haiku Society of America, 2017, for Helices One of 4 winners, e-Chapbook Awards, 2019, for Arithmetic 3rd place, The Marianne Bluger Book and Chapbook Awards 2024 for The Way A Poem Emerges: A Haiku Trinity & Beyond
Bibliography Unwinding (Toronto, ON, Canada: Missing Link, 1974) Tell-tale Feathers (Fredericton, N. B., Canada: Fiddlehead, 1978) Endless Jigsaw (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1978) A Snowman, Headless (Fredericton, N. B., Canada: Fiddlehead, 1979) (ed.), Canadian Haiku Anthology (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1979) Wingbeats (La Crosse, WI, USA: Juniper, 1979) As Far As The Sea Can Eye (Toronto, ON, Canada: York, 1979) The Case of the Moonlit Goldust (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1979) , illustrated by Danielle Jones This Morning's Mockingbird (Battle Ground, IN, USA: High/Coo, 1980) ; The Case of the Missing Heirloom (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1980) , illustrated by Danielle Jones with Anita Krumins, Quillby, The Porcupine Who Lost His Quills (Toronto: Three Trees Press, 1980) , illustrated by Martin Lewis Eye to Eye with a Frog (La Crosse, WI, USA: Juniper, 1981) The Case of the Seaside Burglaries (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1981) , illustrated by Danielle Jones The Modern English Haiku (Toronto: Columbine Editions, 1981) , illustrated by Aiko Suzuki All of Her Shadows (Battle Ground, IN, USA: High/Coo, 1982) ; The Case of the Downhill Theft (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1982) , illustrated by Paul Kantorek Binary Poem (Toronto, ON, Canada: Curvd H&Z, 1982) Undertow (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1982) Biased Sample (Toronto: The League of Canadian Poets, 1982) Tick Bird: Poems for Children (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1983) , illustrated by Katherine Helmer Frozen Breaths (Glen Burnie, MD, USA: Wind Chimes, 1983) (ed.), Cicada Voices: Selected Haiku of Eric Amann 1966-1979 (Battle Ground, IN, USA: High/Coo, 1983) Flaking Paint (Toronto, ON, Canada: Underwhich, 1983) Bifids (Toronto, ON Canada: CURVD H&Z, 1984) Night Tides (London, ON, Canada: South Western Ontario Poetry, 1984) ; Time Is Flies: Poems for Children (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1984) , illustrated by Darcia Labrosse Dudley and the Birdman (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1985) ), illustrated by Gary McLaughlin Dudley and the Christmas Thief (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1986) , illustrated by Allan and Deborah Drew-Brook-Cormack High Wire Spider: Poems for Children (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1986) , illustrated by Victor Gad with Eric Amann, LeRoy Gorman, The Space Between (Glen Burnie, MD, USA: Wind Chimes, 1986) I Eat a Rose Petal (Aylmer, QC, Canada: Haiku Canada, 1987) Multiple Personality (North Vancouver, BC, Canada: Silver Birch, 1987) Leaping Lizard: Poems for Children (Stratford, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1988) , illustrated by Kimberley Hart with jwcurry, Where Even the Factories Have Lawns (Toronto, ON, Canada: Gesture, 1988) I Throw Stones at the Mountain (Glen Burnie, MD, USA: Wind Chimes, 1988) Holes in My Cage: Poems for Young Adults (Toronto, ON, Canada: Three Trees, 1989) (ed.),The Universe is One Poem: Four Poets Talk Poetry (Toronto, ON, Canada: Simon & Pierre, 1990) I Want to Lasso Time (Toronto, ON, Canada: Simon & Pierre, 1991) Leaving My Loneliness (Pointe Claire, QC, Canada: King's Road Press, 1992) (ed.),There will Always be a Sky (Toronto, ON, Canada: Nelson Canada, 1993) Creativity. A New Psychology (Toronto, ON, Canada: Wall & Emerson, 1993) The Psychology of Art : An Experimental Approach (Toronto, ON, Canada: Canadian Scholar's, 1994)