William Hawkins (songwriter and poet)
| William Hawkins | |
|---|---|
William Hawkins and his taxi, 2009
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| Born |
May 20, 1940 Ottawa, Ontario |
| Died | July 4, 2016 (aged 76) Ottawa, Ontario |
| Occupation | Poet, Songwriter and Performer |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Years active | 1963-1972; sporadically thereafter |
William Alfred Hawkins (May 20, 1940 – July 4, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, poet, musician and journalist, most notable for his contributions in the 1960s to Canadian folk rock music and to Canadian poetry. His best known song is "Gnostic Serenade", originally recorded by 3's a Crowd.
Hawkins' original interests were as a poet, which he addressed in the summer of 1963, through attending an intensive writing course for aspiring poets offered by the English department of the University of British Columbia. The course became known as the Vancouver 1963 Poetry Conference, which took place over three weeks in July and August, and involved approximately sixty attendees. The course, designed by Warren Tallman and Robert Creeley, involved a juried assessment of a student's work, with invited faculty members including Allen Ginsberg, Charles Olson and Robert Duncan. Other attendees included Denise Levertov, Margaret Avison and Philip Whalen.
Hawkins commenced publishing his poems in 1964, and enjoyed early success. Three of his poems were selected by A.J.M. Smith for inclusion in his prestigious 1967 anthology, Modern Canadian Verse. In addition, Hawkins became known for hosting and participating in poetry readings by major Canadian poets of the time, including Irving Layton, Leonard Cohen, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster, Gwendolyn MacEwan, Jacques Godbout and John Robert Colombo.
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