George Bowering's Library

 IS NOW IN THE UBC LIBRARY

The source for the photo above is: "A Reading Room Fit for a Literary Giant: Poet Bowering's Personality Showcased Along With Thousands of His Books," John Mackie, Vancouver Province, June 28, 2026. Here is some text from it:

   "Canada's first Parliamentary Poet Laureate, has written so many books of poetry and prose that it's hard to count, and has given readings and lectures all over the world.

   His latest honour is close to home: His personal library has been set up as a reading room at the University of B.C.'s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.

    It isn't a replica of his home study, like you might find in a museum. But an estimated 5,000 volumes from Bowering's vast collection now line the shelves of the reading room, with more to come....
    It's not just books, though. Bowering's personality comes through in the improbable memorabilia that is displayed alongside the volumes, such as baseball bobbleheads, a puppy penholder and Hello Kitty collectibles....

Alas, George isn't young anymore - he's 90. His health hasn't been great, and he now uses a wheelchair. His sight is limited, to the point where he can no longer read or write.

   That said, he's just released two books. Pearl (Talonbooks) is billed as his final book of poetry, and Barefoot Gringo (UBC Press) is a Boweringesque take on his travels to Mexico.

   He still has enough energy to power a small city. Maybe Penticton, where he was born on Dec. 1, 1935, or Oliver, where he grew up.

   Bowering remains as engaging as ever, laughing and telling a dizzying number of stories and anecdotes during a visit to the space, which is officially known as the George Bowering Modernists and Post-modernists Collection."

   If you curious about UBC acquiring such a collection see: "UBC Library Achieves Funding Goal for the George Bowering Reading Room," Library Communications, March 3, 2025. Remember also that in MM there was a recent post about the University of Miami acquiring Jackie Gleason's library and that Philip Roth's library can be found in the Newark Public Library!

   If you noticed the word "Poet" in the headline and are not interested, remember that Bowering wrote many books, including some about baseball. It takes a while to scroll through the list of works written by Bowering in his Wikipedia entry.
   If you associate Bowering with B.C., don't forget that he studied at UWO and was a writer in residence there. Among his books, you will find this one: The Moustache: Memories of Greg Curnoe. 
   There are over 100 works by Bowering in the Western Libraries and the LPL has around 20, including this one: 

If you are now interested, here is a good place to begin for more about Bowering: Georgebowering.com.