Cyril Dabydeen

My poet of the month, Cyril Dabydeen, is such a prolific writer and internationally-acclaimed poet, that my posts during this month will hardly scratch the surface of the works and achievements of a poet of his stature. However, I will try...

Cyril Dabydeen

Cyril Dabydeen, of Indian descent, was born in Guyana in 1945. He is a poet, novelist, short story writer and book critic. He left Guyana for Canada during the 1970s, where he attended Lakehead University and Queen's University. His masters thesis was on the American poet, Sylvia Plath.

Featured in over 60 literary magazines, and anthologized in approximately 20 volumes in 7 countries, he is the author of approximately 17 books. He was the Poet Laureate of Ottawa from 1984-1987. Cyril Dabydeen has received many literary awards, some of which are:

Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence (Guyana Council of Canada)
Sandbach Parker Gold Medal
A.J. Seymour Lyric Poetry
Archibald Lampman Poetry Prize (four-time finalist)
Ottawa Book Award (finalist)
Okanagan Fiction Prize (twice)

Cyril Dabydeen's poetry titles include:

Poems in Recession
Unanimous Night
Uncharted Heart
Imaginary Origins: New and Selected Poems
Hemisphere of Love
Discussing Columbus
Stoning the Wind
Born in Amazonia
Coastland: New and Selected Poems

I hope to share so much more on the works of this talented Guyanese poet. As usual, I invite you to share your thoughts on either our poet of the month, any other featured poet, or Caribbean poetry in general.