Read works of Michael Bullock at 诗海 |
Michael Bullock is usually categorized as a surrealist, a designation he willingly accepts. In so far as much of his poetry and all his fiction is characterized by images drawn from the unconscious through the free flow of the imagination, the description is apt ( he has been described as "one of the most wildly imaginative minds ever to reach the printed page" - Wendy Jeffries, Hamilton Spectator ). However, his work is entirely coherent and finely wrought - the product of literary craftsmanship as well as an unfettered and fertile imagination - unlike most of what passes for surrealist writing. It can rarely be considered "automatic writing", though occasionally the author does employ this technique. As one critic puts it: "Talent and labour have produced these polished gnostic visions" (John Reid, Canadian Literature).
Many of his books have been translated into various European and Oriental languages, notably German, as well as Punjabi and Bengali and especially Chinese, into which language most of his works have been translated in whole or part. These translations have gained him international renown as a writer. His visual art is less widely known, since the international dissemination of works of art was less easy than it is today. Now, however, his visual art is quickly gaining the recognition it deserves.
A celebration of Michael Bullocks' life was held at the UBC Botanical Garden on Saturday August 16, 2008, at 2:30pm.
Michael Bullock, poet, painter, translator, and Professor of Creative Writing, University of British Columbia, died in London, England, on July 21, aged 90. His enthusiasm, affection and lively intellect and capacity for engagement with everyone he met will long live on across continents and especially in Vancouver, Hong Kong and the UK.