The University of British Columbia has unveiled a new reading room at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre stocked with approximately 5,000 volumes from the personal library of celebrated Canadian poet George Bowering. The collection includes works by Jack Kerouac, Jean Cocteau, William S. Burroughs, bpNichol, Sheila Watson, and Margaret Atwood, along with eclectic memorabilia such as baseball bobbleheads, a puppy pen-holder, and Hello Kitty collectibles.
Bowering's Legacy Honoured
George Bowering, now 90, is a recipient of the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia. He served as Canada's first Parliamentary Poet Laureate and has authored numerous books of poetry and prose. The reading room, officially named the George Bowering Modernists and Post-modernists Collection, is not a replica of his home study but features items that reflect his personality and interests.
“The idea is not just the books, but the whole thing, all of the stuff that George has had on his shelves for years,” said Bowering's wife, Jean Baird. “His baseball glove, artwork. Katherine (Kalsbeek of UBC) got it immediately, just what this space could be.” Baird noted that Katherine was particularly taken by a Hello Kitty Pez dispenser. “George hates Hello Kitty, but he started collecting them with irony, and then people started giving them to him with even greater irony.”
Memorabilia and Artifacts
Among the displayed items is a framed cartoon by Margaret Atwood depicting her first meeting with Bowering in 1967. The illustration shows Bowering jumping in the air and clicking his heels while wearing a Donald Duck tie and exclaiming “Quack! Quack!” Atwood inscribed it: “Margaret Atwood, in Nehru collar pantsuit, meets G.B., in Donald Duck tie, 1967” and wrote “For George — always young — XX Peggy.”
Bowering's health has declined; he now uses a wheelchair and has limited sight, preventing him from reading or writing. Despite this, he has recently released two books: Pearl (Talonbooks), described as his final book of poetry, and Barefoot Gringo (UBC Press), a travelogue about his experiences in Mexico.
A Lasting Contribution
The reading room serves as both a personal honour and a tribute to the writers who influenced Bowering. “You can tell it means a lot to him,” noted the article. “It’s more than a personal honour, it’s a way of honouring the writers that influenced him.” The collection is expected to grow as more volumes are added over time.
