Creative writing alumnus captures Governor General's Award for poetry

A University of Windsor graduate has won a coveted Governor General’s award for his latest collection of poetry.

Killdeer, a book of poems and essays by two-time UWindsor alumnus Phil Hall (BA 1976, MA creative writing 1978) won the 2011 Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry, the Canada Council for the Arts announced yesterday.

While in Windsor, Hall  studied under Joyce Carol Oates and her late husband Ray Smith, as well as professor emeritus Eugene McNamara. In 1973, he published his first book of poetry while still an undergraduate studying drama and English.

Hall currently resides in Perth, but his latest collection includes a piece called Becoming a Poet which is all about the time he spent in Windsor. This was actually his second GG award nomination. His Trouble Sleeping earned a nod in 2001.

Canada’s national book awards, these Canada Council awards celebrate and promote the excellence of Canadian writers, illustrators and translators. The Canada Council’s peer assessment committees selected the GG shortlist after reading, between them, a total of 1,684 eligible books submitted for this year’s awards.

Governor General David Johnston will present the awards November 24 at Rideau Hall.

Read an article about Hall and the awards in the Ottawa Citizen.