The scope, innovation and depth (down to the heart) of bpNichol's writing makes him one of the most important writers in English of the 20th century. He is widely known for his research into genres as diverse as the lyric, the long poem, sound poetry, concrete poetry, critical theory and now, with the publication of "bpNichol Comics," we can even add the comic strip to this impressive list.
Carl Peters has put together this major collection of Nichol's comics from 1960 to 1980, which frame characters ranging from Milt the Morph, to Bob de Cat, Lonely Fred and Rover Rawshanks: rich examples of Nichol's attempts to explode conventional syntax, narrative structure, lyric self-centredness--indeed all of the conventions of modernist art and art making. And with the inclusion of a remarkable selection of previously unpublished letters and essays around the comics themselves, Peters shows us that Nichol's comics informed not only his own work in other genres, but the work of other writers as well. But, in as much as Nichol's comics bring us to a deeper understanding of his poetics, his comics also remind us that, as Robin Blaser writes, "the truth is laughter." "bpNichol Comics" is not only for scholars, poets, cartoonists, artists, animators, writers and readers; it is for the inquisitive and adventurous child in all of us.

Poetry. Art. Originally published in 1970 as a mimeo production by bill bissett's seminal blewointment press (the same year that Michael Ondaatje issued his documentary on Nichol titled The Sons of Captain Poetry), smatterings of THE CAPTAIN POETRY POEMS COMPLETE have appeared over the years but never in their entirety. Now, in "official book form" for the first time, along with corrections to the texts and the material that wasn't included in the original edition, and "some words on all these words" by Nichol himself THE CAPTAIN POETRY POEMS COMPLETE is available at last to scholars, poets, and other human beings alike. With an afterword by bill bissett.

Poetry. The value of THESEUS is as much about its pedigree as the writing itself. The collaboration for this new book began in the autumn of 1966. bpNichol and Wayne Clifford had worked together early in their literary careers; in fact, Clifford had been the editor of Nichol's first trade book, published with Coach House Press. To begin, Nichol had also wanted to include two West Coast poets in the writing process. This didn't work out, so Nichol and Clifford rewrote a section to produce Part One of the present text. Part Two was composed over many years of revisiting and revising. These long gestation periods allowed the writers the space and time to re/consider, knowing the text would always be there to augment. After Nichol's death, Clifford completed the work, adding Part Three--composed of elements of Nichol's MARTYROLOGY--as a means of tribute, eulogy, acceptance and lie. Thematically, the text focuses on the Theseus-Ariadne-Minotaur cycle: in Part One, the authors were young enough to "re=verb=erate" when struck with the myth; Part Two allowed Nichol and Clifford the space to step back in order to devise a way to say 'love' more acutely; finally, Part Three presents a stunning example of one man's grief for a lost friend and collaborator. All told, THESEUS is an important text that, published here for the first time, adds considerable gravitas to Nichol's poetic legacy, and the unique partnership between the two authors allows Nichol's words to be extended beyond the grave.

Poetry. Edited by Stephen Cain. While bpNichol (1944-1988) has attained iconic status in Canadian literature in recent years, particularly through his lifelong poem THE MARTYROLOGY, and his work in visual and sound poetry, there are numerous early "fugitive" sequences that are often referred to in critical studies, but are long out of print and only available in library special collections or in the hands of rare book collectors. BP: BEGINNINGS brings together these pre-Martyrology materials in one comprehensive collection, including such key texts as Nichol's first chapbooks Beach Head and Cycles Etc., the minimal lyric sequences The Other Side of the Room and The Journeying and the Returns, and various concrete and sound-texts such as Lament, The Year of the Frog and Ballads of the Restless Are. These collected sequences show nichol developing his talents in both visual poetry and lyricism, pointing the way towards the union of the two forms in the later MARTYROLOGY. Combined with THE CAPTAIN POETRY POEMS COMPLETE (published by BookThug in 2011), BP: BEGINNINGS now makes all of Nichol's major poetry sequences available to both the avid nichol specialists and to aficionados of innovative poetry everywhere.