Asa Boxer won the Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry last month for his first collection, The Mechanical Bird (Véhicule Press). An early draft of one of the poem suites, “The Workshop,” claimed first prize in the 2004 CBC Literary Awards.
The poems in The Mechanical Bird explore the natural and man-made worlds with an imaginative mix of fact and invention. There are several series of poems, linked by Boxer’s interest in the balance between artifice and authenticity in language as well as the “real” world.
Boxer was born and raised in Montreal, where he now lives. He spent ten years in Israel, where he studied history and literature at university, and also served in the army. Since returning to Canada, he has published poetry, articles and reviews in Poetry London, Arc, Books in Canada, Maisonneuve and CNQ.
Boxer followed in his father’s footsteps when it comes to poetry. Avi Boxer was active in the Montreal poetry scene from the 1950s to the early ‘70s. He died when his son was an adolescent.
Recently, Boxer put together an online archive about his father’s work, including photos featuring his dad with other poets of that era, such as Margaret Atwood, Al Purdy, Irving Layton and Louis Dudek.
Shortly after winning the CAA Award , the poet spoke with Patti Schmidt, host of the Montreal CBC Radio program 5 à 6. They talked about his father’s influence, serving in the Israeli army and Boxer’s fascination with time and things mechanical.
Listen to their conversation here:
First aired on 5 à 6. [Runs: 15:31]
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