Allan is a poet, freelance editor, mentor and tutor, reviewer, micro publisher, consultant, and book packager specializing in poetry and non-fiction. He lives in Thornhill, ON (just north of Toronto), with his wife Holly, a visual artist. Three recent books have developed as a creative collaboration with Holly, through which her collages and pen-and-ink drawings engage in dialogues with his poems.
In 1986-90 Allan led Phoenix, Toronto’s longest-running poetry workshop. He was one of the chief organizers of the weekly Art Bar Poetry Reading Series from 1991 until 2002: playing a central role as it grew into the largest series of its kind in Canada. Since 2000, he has been the main literary editor for Seraphim Editions. He started his own micro press, Aeolus House, in 2003. Two years later, after having worked for many years as a Project Leader in the I.T. field, he left the “9-to-5” to pursue full-time what he had long been doing evenings and weekends. In January 2006, Allan and three fellow writers started the monthly literary reading series Toronto WordStage.
Selected Publications
Weighted Light (watershedBooks, 1998) ISBN 1-894205-00-6.
The Tunnel Through the Trees (Micro Prose, 1999) ISBN 0-9682496-8-X.
Unleaving (Hidden Brook Press, 2001) ISBN 1-894553-29-2.
Phantelles (Aeolus House, 2003) ISBN 0-9732411-0-1.
Urban-Pastoral (Lyricalmyrical Press, 2004) ISBN 0-9734901-4-4.
Pomona Summer (Hidden Brook Press, 2005) ISBN 1-894553-29-2.
Galactic Music (Lyricalmyrical Press, 2005) ISBN 0-9737696-6-1.
The Other Seasons (Hidden Brook Press, 2006) ISBN 1-894553-69-1.
Selected Anthologies
Mix Six (Mekler & Deahl, 1996) ISBN 1-896367-06-2.
Understatement (Seraphim Editions, 1996) ISBN 0-9699639-3-9.
The Edges of Time (Seraphim Editions, 1999) ISBN 0-9699639-5-5.
Degrees of Closeness (The Marcasite Press, 2001) ISBN 3 0-9689145-0-0.
Renaissance Conspiracy (Micro Prose, 2004) ISBN 0-9734609-2-X.
Books in Print
Unleaving, Poetry (Hidden Brook Press, 2001) ISBN 1-894553-29-2, $12.00.
Urban-Pastoral, Poetry (Lyricalmyrical Press, 2004) ISBN 0-9734901-4-4, $15.00.
Pomona Summer, Poetry (Hidden Brook Press, 2005) ISBN 1-894553-29-2, $12.95.
Galactic Music, Poetry (Lyricalmyrical Press, 2005) ISBN 0-9737696-6-1, $25.00.
The Other Seasons, Poetry (Hidden Brook Press, 2006) ISBN 1-894553-69-1, $15.95.
Allan Briesmaster, P.O. Box 53031, Royal Orchard Postal Stn., 10 Royal Orchard Blvd., Thornhill, ON L3T 3C0 Canada. (905) 771-5784.
abriesma@ican.net
http://www.aeolushouse.com/