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Overview

John Barton is a Canadian poet, essayist, editor, and literary organizer whose work and advocacy have helped shape contemporary poetry in Canada. Known for his formally assured, emotionally resonant writing and for championing LGBTQ2S+ voices, he has also had a major impact as a magazine editor and mentor. He served as editor of The Malahat Review for well over a decade and as Victoria, British Columbia's Poet Laureate. Barton's publications include numerous poetry collections and essays, and he has co-edited landmark anthologies of queer Canadian writing.

Early Life and Education

John Barton was born in 1957 in Edmonton, Alberta, and grew up on the Prairies. He studied literature and the arts at Canadian universities and later trained in library and information science, a background that informed his meticulous editorial practice and long engagement with literary institutions. Early on, he was drawn to poetry's ability to braid personal memory, visual art, and social history, a constellation of interests that would recur throughout his career.

Beginnings in Publishing and the Ottawa Years

Barton's early professional life unfolded in Ottawa, where he became deeply involved in the city's literary scene as a writer, editor, and organizer. During the 1990s he worked closely with Arc Poetry Magazine, helping to develop its national profile and supporting a generation of emerging poets. His editorial work there honed the balance of exacting standards and generosity that would later define his leadership at a larger national journal. Ottawa's vibrant poetry community, writers, editors, festival curators, and small-press publishers, provided Barton with a collaborative network that sustained his writing life and broadened his editorial reach.

The Malahat Review and National Literary Leadership

Barton is best known nationally for his long editorship of The Malahat Review, the University of Victoria, based literary quarterly founded by poet and scholar Robin Skelton. Succeeding editor Marlene Cookshaw, Barton stewarded the magazine for more than a decade, expanding its national footprint, strengthening its design and production, deepening its relationships with writers across Canada, and curating special features and contests that brought new readers to poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and translation. While at The Malahat Review, Barton mentored interns and emerging editors, served on prize juries, and forged connections with festivals, small presses, and university programs from coast to coast.

Books, Themes, and Style

Barton's poetry is celebrated for its clarity, musicality, and craft. He writes with an architect's sense of structure and a curator's eye for detail, often engaging with:
- queer identity and history, including public and private registers of desire and belonging
- ekphrasis and art history, notably the lives and work of artists of the Pacific Northwest and beyond
- memory, place, and the shifting geographies of Canadian urban life
- elegy and testimony, balancing intimacy with cultural critique

His collections include Polari, a book that explores the coded language and cultural histories of queer communities, and other volumes that reflect his long-standing dialogue with visual art and West Coast culture. In addition to poetry, he has published essays and literary memoir, among them We Are Not Avatars: Essays, Memoirs, Manifestos, articulating a coherent poetics and offering candid reflections on editing, mentorship, aesthetics, and the responsibilities of literary citizenship.

Community, Collaboration, and Advocacy

A significant strand of Barton's contribution has been collaborative. With poet and editor Billeh Nickerson, he co-edited Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay-Male Poets, a landmark collection that mapped a tradition, recovered overlooked voices, and helped consolidate a national conversation about queer poetics. Through editing, guest curating, and public talks, he has advocated for inclusion across the literary sector.

In Victoria, Barton has been part of a thriving poetry community that includes figures such as Lorna Crozier, Patricia Young, and Yvonne Blomer (who preceded him as Poet Laureate), among others. He has worked with students, independent booksellers, festival organizers, and arts administrators, emphasizing the ecology that sustains literary work, from classrooms and open mics to juries, residencies, and national prizes.

Poet Laureate of Victoria

Appointed the City of Victoria's Poet Laureate for the 2019, 2022 term, Barton served as a literary ambassador for the municipality. He organized readings and mentorship initiatives, brought poetry into civic events, and collaborated with community groups to foreground literary arts as a public practice. The laureateship reflected both his stature as a writer and his commitment to service.

Recognition and Awards

Barton's poetry and editing have been recognized with major Canadian honours. He has received awards such as the Archibald Lampman Award for poetry and has been shortlisted or recognized in other regional and national competitions. His essays and poems have appeared in leading literary magazines, anthologies, and broadcasts, and he has been invited to read at festivals nationwide. While never writing to a prize, he has consistently earned the esteem of peers, editors, and jurors for the rigor and accessibility of his work.

Editorial Philosophy and Mentorship

As an editor, Barton has balanced innovation with tradition, welcoming formal experimentation while insisting on precision of language. He is known for detailed, respectful feedback, and for creating editorial processes that support emerging writers without diluting high standards. Many poets credit him with pivotal early publications and with practical advice about sequencing, revision, and the professional aspects of a writing life.

Personal Life

Openly gay and long resident on Canada's West Coast, Barton's personal experience informs his art without circumscribing it. He has made Victoria a home base while maintaining strong ties to literary communities across Canada. Outside his writing and editing, he has worked in libraries and cultural institutions, roles that align with his archival sensibility and his commitment to the preservation of literary culture.

Legacy and Influence

John Barton's legacy rests on two intertwined pillars: a body of poetry that enlarges Canadian letters with its craft, empathy, and cultural acuity; and decades of editorial leadership that have opened doors for others. Through books, essays, mentorship, and the public work of a laureate and editor, he has helped to define the contours of contemporary Canadian poetry and to ensure that it remains a living, contested, welcoming space.

Selected Works and Projects

- Polari (poetry)
- We Are Not Avatars: Essays, Memoirs, Manifestos (essays)
- Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay-Male Poets (co-editor, with Billeh Nickerson)
- Numerous essays, interviews, and special features for The Malahat Review and other journals

People and Communities Around Him

- Editors and publishers: colleagues at Arc Poetry Magazine and The Malahat Review; designers, copy editors, and interns who shaped issues and contests alongside him
- Writers and collaborators: Billeh Nickerson (co-editor); members of the Victoria poetry community such as Yvonne Blomer, Lorna Crozier, and Patricia Young
- Institutional partners: University of Victoria (home of The Malahat Review), the City of Victoria (Poet Laureate program), and festival and prize organizations across Canada

Taken together, Barton's career exemplifies how a poet can serve literature not only by writing memorable books but also by building the platforms and relationships that allow others to thrive.