Harold Rhenisch was born in Penticton, B.C., in 1958. He holds a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria, has spent many years working on orchards, nurseries, and vineyards in the Okanagan Valley, and currently lives at 108 Mile Ranch, on the Cariboo Plateau. He is the League of Canadian Poets' Communications Committee Chair, an arts columnist, and publisher of The Milestones Review, a book review quarterly.
Awards
Rosalind Hewlett Petch Memorial Prize in Creative Writing, 1980.
Confederation Poetry Prize, 1991.
CBC/Tilden Saturday Night Literary Competition, finalist, 1981, 1995,
1996, 1997.
Best Arts and Culture Writing Award, BC and Yukon Community Newspapers
Association, 1996.
Selected Publications
Travelling in Place (with Neile Graham). (Saults & Pollard,
1980).
Winter. (Sono Nis Press, 1982).
Eleusis. (Sono Nis Press, 1986).
A Delicate Fire. (Sono Nis Press, 1989).
Dancing with My Daughter. (Sono Nis Press, 1993).
Out of the Interior: the Lost Country. (Cacanadadada Press,
1993).
In the Presence of Ghosts. (Hawthorne Society, 1993).
Iodine, or a Visit to Jake's Kero Confectionary During the Elks'
Rodeo Parade, 1963. (Wolsak and Wynn, 1994).
Taking the Breath Away. (Ronsdale Press, 1998).
The Blue Mouth of Morning. (Oolichan Books, 1998).
Selected Anthologies
Six Poets of British Columbia. (Sono Nis Press, 1980).
Books in Print
Rhenisch, Harold
A Delicate Fire. Sono Nis Press, 1989. ISBN: 1-55039-014-7.
Dancing with My Daughter. Sono Nis Press, 1993. ISBN:
1-55039-037-6.
Eleusis. Sono Nis Press, 1986. ISBN: 0-919203-84-1.
In the Presence of Ghosts. Hawthorne Society, 1993. ISBN:
1-895362-19-9.
Iodine, or a Visit to Jake's Kero Confectionary During the Elks'
Rodeo Parade, 1963. Wolsak and Wynn, 1994. ISBN: 0-919897-40-1.
Out of the Interior: the Lost Country. Cacanadadada Press, 1993.
ISBN: 0-921870-23-X.
Taking the Breath Away. Ronsdale Press, 1998. ISBN: 921870-55-8.
The Blue Mouth of Morning. Oolichan Books, 1998.
Winter. Sono Nis Press, 1982. ISBN: 0-919203-06-X.
Harold Rhenisch, Box 720, 108 Mile Ranch BC V0K 2Z0, (250)
791-6588
rhenisch@telus.net
Poet in the School
phone: 250-296-0039
rhenisch@telus.net
I have published nine books of poetry, ranging from
ecologically-based to poetry of myth and story-telling. My most recent
book of poems is Free Will, a
book of theatrical send-ups, including wild stagings of Shakespeare's
major dramas. I have published a translation of the German postmodern
radio play, Peyote, by Stefan
Schultz, a novel about story-telling and a boy's life in Germany during
WWII, and two books of non-fiction, including Tom Thomson's Shack, which presents
a view of Canada and citizenship bridging urban and rural realities,
and which was nominated for two B.C. Book Prizes in 2001. In 2003, my
poem "Tao Hill," won ARC magazine's poem of the year award.
I have read my poetry over 140 times in the last
five years, throughout B.C., in Ontario, and in England; have lectured
at the university level; and have done countless creative writing and
literary workshops for both adults and students of all ages, from
kindergarten through Grade 12, in regular, special education, and
gifted programs. I have been a long-term volunteer coach with both the
Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination creative thinking
skills programs. I have taught workshops in all literary genres for the
University College of the Cariboo, a workshop on Creative Non-Fiction
for the Island Mountain Arts festival and have led a week-long
"work-in-progress" workshop for the Victorial School of Writing in the
summer of 2003. In addition, I have worked for two years with the
Likely Community School in Likely, B.C., developing a long-term
relationship as a writer with the school's Kindergarten to Grade 4
Class. In the spring of 2003, I led a poetry workshop for both Grade 6
and 7 classes at Glendale School in Williams Lake, B.C., as part of
Canada Heritage's celebration of World Poetry Day.
Grade Levels: K
- 12.
Fees: standard
Classroom Approach:
I am a humorous and lively
instructor and work hard to include the class. My strengths are in
on-the-spot editing, building enthusiasm, a broad range of literary
interests, and cross-genre work. My classroom approach is flexible,
varying depending upon the age, needs, and interests of the students.
With older students, I can introduce any form or forms of poetry from a
writer's perspective, from sound poetry and visual poetry, through a
wide array of lyrical poetries, and through the present. I prefer to
have at least one hour with each class and vary instructional lessons
with examples from a wide and eclectic array of material.
I want poetry to be accessible, and I want students
to find it around them in all things, and I choose my materials with
that in mind. With senior students, I also work very closely on tight
projects as well as editing of their own work, working closely with
openings, closings, dialogue, compression, and timing.
With junior students, I incorporate sound and image
into group and individual work in a fast-paced but non-threatening
environment. I work to open possibilities within students. I do not
consider poetry a difficult art in and of itself. There is difficulty,
but the difficulty is in envisioning the poetry, and in learning how to
see and to present sensory material to an audience.
My goal in the classroom is first to help students
discover and present individual material. Once that material is
present, my goal is to teach students to use poetry as a means of
thought, to revise extensively, and to see the possibilities within
their work. I believe in the power of revision, and try to incorporate
lessons in revision skills throughout my presentations. If I have
inspired students to see poetry as a widely-ranging and exciting
pursuit, I consider my workshops a success.