ENG 356: Contemporary Canadian Poetry

Louise Bak

Louise Bak writes, "I am a poet, performance artist and sexual activist. I am the author of emeighty (Letters), Gingko Kitchen (Coach House) and Tulpa (Coach House Books). I am also the co-host of Sex City, Toronto's only radio show that explores the interconnections between sexuality and culture. I host a reading series called The Box. I'm currently a doctoral student at the University of Toronto in Cultural Studies and Women's Studies."

Louise Bak was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1972 and has lived in Toronto since 1991. She works actively as a writer, editor, radio broadcaster, performance artist and sexuality counsellor. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines, journals and anthologies in North America. Her first book of poetry, emeighty, was published in a limited edition by Letters Bookshop in 1995. She is currently the guest art editor of the feminist culture magazine PlusZero. Aside from her literary (in)ventures, Louise can be heard every Tuesday morning as co-host of Sex City, Toronto's only morning program dedicated to ongoing cultural (s)excavation (CIUT-FM 89.5). Her performance work has appeared recently in the independent films Cheese (1995), Amidst Us (Total Eclipse Productions, 1996) and The Wall (1997). She is co-originator of SLANT, Canada's first television magazine to explore Canadian-Asian art and culture, now in development. She is also completing her graduate work on the transperformative aspects of Cantonese opera in Canada at the University of Toronto.

She is the author of Tulpa (Coach House Books, 2002), Gingko Kitchen (Coach House Books, 1997) and emeighty (Letters, 1995). Louise has gained widespread attention as the co-host of Sex City, Toronto's only radio show focused on intersections between sexuality and culture. Her performance work has appeared in numerous galleries, festivals and video collaborations. She also hosts a salon series called The Box, which encourages communication creative borders. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Toronto in SESE and Women's Studies.

Topics:

1.    POET: Any one of Louise Bak's three books: emeighty (Letters 1995), Tulpa (Coach House Books 2002), or Gingko Kitchen (Coach House Books 1997)

2.    MULTIMEDIA and POETRY: Exploring her work in radio and other media in relation to poetry

Websites:

http://faculty.washington.edu/kendo/bak.html