Canadian Male Poets

Win Butler is an American-Canadian multi-instrumentalist, musician, singer, and songwriter. He is credited with co-founding the popular Canadian indie rock band, Arcade Fire. Also a humanitarian, Butler contributed to a charity record named Do They Know It's Hallowe'en as part of a UNICEF benefit project. A multi-talented personality, Win Butler often participates in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.

Serge Monast was a Québécois investigative journalist, poet, and essayist. He was also known as a conspiracy theorist. He wrote extensively on the theme of the New World Order in the 1990s and was particularly inspired by the works of fellow conspiracy theorist William Guy Carr. Project Blue Beam (NASA) is one of his most popular works. 

Best known for his iconic war poems such as In Flanders Fields, Canadian poet John McCrae was also an army physician. He was the first Canadian to serve as a consulting surgeon for the British Army and had earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Army.

Robert W. Service was a British-Canadian poet and writer. Popularly called "the Bard of the Yukon," he wrote some of the most commercially successful poetry of his era. A bank clerk by profession, he often wrote while traveling for work. Besides poetry, he also wrote fiction and non-fiction. He was often compared to English writer and novelist Rudyard Kipling. 

Leonard Cohen was one of the most popular Canadian celebrities of all time. After starting his career as a poet and novelist, Leonard went on to become a famous singer-songwriter, exploring themes like sexuality, religion, depression, and romantic relationships in his work. Leonard Cohen was one of the inspirations for Steven Clark and Matthew Bissonnette's 2002 film Looking for Leonard.

Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, writer, and filmmaker. Born in Sri Lanka, he eventually migrated to Canada. He studied at Bishop's University and embarked on a teaching career. His literary works include poems, novels, and essays. He is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including the Giller Prize and the Booker Prize. 

Shane Koyczan is a Canadian spoken word poet and writer. He is a member of the group, Tons of Fun University, and often writes on topics like bullying, eating disorders, and death. He won the individual championship title at the beach National Poetry Slam in 2000, becoming the first Canadian to do so. He identifies himself as an 'okay atheist.' 

Thomas D'Arcy McGee was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, and poet. As a young man, he opposed British rule in Ireland and was in favor of creating an independent Irish Republic. He later became conservative in his beliefs and moved to Canada. He helped create the Canadian Confederation in 1867 but was assassinated the following year.  

Charles de Lint is a Canadian writer who primarily writes fantasy fiction in the subgenres of urban fantasy,  mythic fiction, and contemporary magical realism. He is considered one of the pioneers of the genre of urban fantasy. His most popular works include Widdershins and The Blue Girl. He is married to  MaryAnn Harris, who is also his business manager. 

Duncan Campbell Scott was a Canadian writer, poet, and civil servant. He is regarded as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. As a civil servant, he served as deputy superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs. In this position, he supported the implementation of racist policies toward Canada's First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.  

Félix Leclerc was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter and writer. Growing up during the Great Depression, he held a series of odd jobs before becoming a radio announcer in Québec City and Trois-Rivières. With time, he built a successful career as a singer and writer. In 1986, he was made a Chevalier of the French Légion d'honneur. 

George Woodcock was a Canadian writer, philosopher, literary critic, essayist, and thinker. As the founding editor of Canadian Literature, the first academic journal dedicated to Canadian writing, Woodcock played a major role in the success of the journal. The recipient of many awards like the Molson Prize, Woodcock's life and career inspired the documentary, George Woodcock: Anarchist of Cherry Street.

Alden Nowlan was a Canadian novelist, poet, and playwright. Widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most popular Canadian poets, Nowlan served as the University of New Brunswick's writer-in-residence in Fredericton. He was also the recipient of several prestigious awards, such as the Governor General's Award, which he won for his collection Bread, Wine and Salt.

Bliss Carman was a Canadian poet whose works earned him international recognition. His poem, Autumn ,inspired Leo Sowerby to write Comes Autumn Time, which became his best-known organ piece. Throughout his illustrious career, Carman was honored with many prestigious awards like the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Gold Medal. During his later years, Carman served as Canada's poet laureate.

E. J. Pratt was a Canadian poet who won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top poetry prize, on three occasions. Regarded as the most important Canadian poet of his generation, Pratt is also considered the leading Canadian poet of the first half of the 20th century. During his career, he also won other prestigious awards like the Canada Council Medal.

Robert Stanley Weir was a Canadian judge and poet. He is best known for writing the English lyrics to the national anthem of Canada, O Canada. He was trained as a teacher and lawyer. Over the course of his successful legal career, he was appointed a municipal court judge. He published several poems in magazines and book collections. 

Archibald Lampman was a 19th-century Canadian poet considered to be the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets. He is often referred to as the “Canadian Keats” and classified as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. He was a quiet and dignified person with high ideals. He passed away at the age of just 37. 

Earle Birney was a Canadian novelist and poet. He is best remembered for winning the prestigious Governor General's Award on two occasions. In 1953, he was also honored with the Lorne Pierce Medal for his immense contribution to Canadian literature and poetry.

Annie Louisa Walker was an English and Canadian teacher and author. Born in England, she moved to Canada as a young girl. She ran a school with her sisters and also embarked on a literary career. With the help of her second cousin, prominent writer Margaret Oliphant, she was able to build a successful career as a novelist. 

Charles Fenerty was a 19th-century Canadian inventor and poet. He is best remembered for inventing the wood pulp process for paper-making. His invention did not receive much attention in his lifetime and he never took out a patent on it. He was well known as a poet and published numerous poems. He was an extensive traveler as well. 

A renowned French-Canadian essayist and poet, Gaston Miron was known for his numerous interpretive works, the most celebrated collection of his poems being L’Homme rapaillé. Also the editor of Quebec's Quiet Revolution, he was committed to the establishment of an independent French-speaking country in North America and is hailed as the most important literary figure of Quebec's nationalist movement.

James Reaney was a Canadian poet, playwright, and professor. He developed an early love for literature and theater and studied English at University College, University of Toronto. He pursued an academic career while also focusing on his writing. He was the recipient of Canada's highest literary award, the Governor General's Award, thrice. He also enjoyed drawing and painting. 

American poet, biographer and critic, John Malcolm Brinnin published his first collection of poems in the same year he graduated from the University of Harvard , thereafter, continuing to publish five more volumes of poems, biographies and travelogues. However, he is better known as the man who brought Dylan Thomas to America, guiding him on his speaking tour throughout USA.  

A.M. Klein was a Canadian lawyer turned poet, journalist, novelist, and short-story writer. He studied law at the Université de Montréal and embarked on a legal career. He eventually turned his focus to writing and published several pieces of fiction and numerous volumes of poetry. He was honored with the Governor General's Award in poetry. 

A versatile writer and poet, William Wilfred Campbell began writing poems while in college, continuing to do so while serving as Episcopal priest, publishing his first two books of poems during this period. Later, he gave up his post due to a crisis of faith and continued with his writing, regularly publishing volumes of verses, verse dramas, fictions and non-fictions.

Louis Dudek was a Canadian poet, publisher, and academic who played a major role in defining Modernism in poetry. Dudek is also remembered for his literary criticism. He also played a key role as a theoretician and teacher, influencing the way Canadian poetry is taught in most Canadian universities and schools.

Matt Cohen was a Canadian writer whose novel, Elizabeth and After, earned him the Governor General's Award under the English-language Fiction category in 1999. Cohen is credited with co-founding the Writers' Union of Canada, where he served as the president in 1986. Under his presidency, the union was able to persuade the government to establish a Public Lending Right program.

A.J.M. Smith was a Canadian anthologist and poet. Smith was an important member of a group called the Montreal Group, which played a key role in popularizing modernism at a time when Victorianism was prevalent. In 1943, he won the prestigious Governor General's Award under the English-language poetry or drama category. In 1966, he won the Lorne Pierce Medal.

Educated at Leeds and Cambridge, Robin Skelton later served as part of the Royal Air Force in India and also taught at the University of Victoria. A self-proclaimed Wiccan, he wrote on topics such as the occult. A talented poet, too, he penned his volumes as Georges Zuk.

William Henry Drummond was a Canadian poet whose works established him as one of the most famous writers in the West. He is also counted among the most loved and widely-read Canadian poets. The Dr. William Henry Drummond Poetry Contest, which was established in 1970, is conducted in his honor.

John Glassco was a Canadian poet, novelist, and memoirist best remembered for his autobiography, poems, translations, and erotica. His work, Selected Poems, earned him Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Award. He also wrote several pornographic novels like The English Governess and completed Aubrey Beardsley's unfinished pornographic work Under the Hill.

Octave Crémazie was a French-Canadian bookseller and poet who played a major role in Quebec's cultural development. Often referred to as the father of French Canadian poetry, Crémazie is best remembered for his patriotic verse. Octave Crémazie is credited with founding an organization called Institut canadien, which aimed at promoting French-Canadian culture.

Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau was a French-Canadian painter and poet. Often referred to as Quebec's first modern poet, Garneau has been hailed as a harbinger of the Quebec literary renaissance. Many of his works have been translated into other languages like English and Spanish. He is credited with founding La relève, a monthly journal that gained popularity among art lovers.

François-Xavier Garneau was a French Canadian notary, civil servant, poet, and liberal. Garneau is remembered for his contribution to the French-Canadian community, including Histoire du Canada, a three-volume historical account of the French Canadian nation. The Canadian Historical Association created the François-Xavier Garneau Medal, which is given every five years in his honor.

Louis-Honoré Fréchette was a Canadian poet, playwright, short story writer, and politician. Fréchette is the first Quebecer to be honored with the prestigious Montyon Prize, which he received for his work, Les Fleurs boréales, les oiseaux de neige. In 1989, Canada Post honored his contribution by issuing a postage stamp featuring his portrait.

Patrick Anderson was an English-Canadian poet. He is credited with co-founding a Montreal literary magazine named Preview. Apart from working as a poet, Patrick Anderson also worked as a teacher, teaching at prestigious institutions like McGill University and Selwyn House School. He is also credited with teaching Charles Taylor, who went on to become a well-known philosopher.

Antoine Gérin-Lajoie was a Québécois Canadian novelist, poet, and attorney. He is credited with writing one of Canada's most famous poems, Un Canadien errant. Antoine Gérin-Lajoie is also credited with founding a couple of literature magazines, namely Le Foyer canadien and Les Soirées canadiennes.

Alexander McLachlan was a Canadian poet who achieved popularity in the mid-19th century. He often wrote in Scottish dialect as he was born in Scotland. Referred to as the Canadian Robert Burns, McLachlan's works reflected the homesickness of Scottish immigrants living in Canada.

Hédi Bouraoui is a Tunisian-Canadian poet, academic, and novelist. He is renowned for producing works that deal with themes concerning the transcendence of cultural boundaries. Bouraoui, who has received several literary awards in Tunisia, France, and Canada, works as a teacher at York University in Toronto, where he teaches English literature and French, specializing in franco-ontarian, Caribbean, and African literature.

Félix-Antoine Savard was a Canadian poet, academic, novelist, folklorist, and priest. After establishing the parish of Clermont in Charlevoix, Savard used the mountains of Charlevoix to draw inspiration for his novel Menaud, maître draveur, which earned him a medal from the French Academy. From 1950 to 1957, he served as a dean at Université Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Tom MacInnes was a writer and poet whose narrative verse was extremely popular during his lifetime. He wrote on topics ranging from Canada's least populated province to philosophy. Although he was a Canadian, MacInnes spent several years in China and wrote several articles based on his experiences in China. He is also credited with founding the Nationalist League of Canada.

American-born Canadian author and poet Robert Guy Choquette is best remembered for his Prix David-winning volumes of poetry Through the Winds and Metropolitan Museum. A diplomat, too, he had been the Canadian ambassador to Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. He was also part of the French-Canadian Academy.

French-Canadian poet Nérée Beauchemin was a major figure of the Le Terroir, or The Soil, school of poetry. Additionally, he was also a physician. His works mostly featured the Canadian landscape and the rural life of Quebec and its nearby regions, though he only released two poetry volumes throughout his career.

Ralph Gustafson was a Canadian poet who also served as a professor at Bishop's University. In 1974, his work, Fire on Stone, earned him the prestigious Governor General's Award, which is widely regarded as Canada's top literary honor. Over the course of his illustrious career, Ralph Gustafson held several important posts and served as an educator in various institutions.