BA (Hons), MA
Instructor, English
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
School of Humanities
English
604.986.1911 ext. 2291
Fir Building, room FR 404
rfarr@capilanou.ca
Education
MA, Simon Fraser University, 2000.
BA (Honours), Simon Fraser University, 1995.
"The secret is to really begin."
Bio
Roger Farr (MA, Simon Fraser University, 2000) is a writer, educator and editor. He studied avant-garde poetry and poetics and literary theory at Simon Fraser University in the nineties, under the guidance of George Bowering, Roy Miki and Jerry Zaslove, while also active with artist-run cultural organizations in the Vancouver writing scene.
After graduating from SFU, Farr worked for several years as the Managing Editor of the cultural studies journal West Coast Line, joining the English Department at Capilano University in 2001, where he continues to teach creative writing, cultural studies and literary theory while maintaining a busy practice as a writer and editor.
When he's not in Vancouver, Farr makes his home on an island in the Snuneymuxw territory.
I have an unorthodox, "working class" education history, and my teaching methods and interests reflect that. For more on that, see the interview with me in the article "Capitalist, State-Controlled, Compulsory Education", available online at the venerable Capilano Courier.
Every term, I look forward to meeting new students and continuing my own education through teaching. In my 18+ years here, I have taught at all of Capilano University's satellite campuses, and have also been fortunate to collaborate with the Lilwat, Sechelt and Squamish Nations to teach courses in their communities. My Squamish nickname is Esttxwests, which means making it right - that pretty much sums up my teaching philosophy!
My research has focused mainly on the areas of contemporary poetry and poetics, literary and aesthetic theory, and theorizing the relationship between the avant-garde and radical social movements. More recently, my research interests have expanded to include the history of sexuality and queer theory.
Books
Farr, Roger. I Am a City Still But Soon I Shan't Be. Vancouver, BC: New Star, 2019.
Farr, Roger. IKMQ. Vancouver, BC: New Star, 2012.
Farr, Roger. MEANS. Burnaby, BC: LINEbooks, 2010.
Farr, Roger. N 49 19. 47 - W 123 8.11. (w/ Reg Johanson & Aaron Vidaver) Vancouver, BC: Recomposition Books, 2008.
Farr, Roger. SURPLUS. Burnaby, BC: LINEbooks 2006.
Editing
Editor, The Amourous Comrade: Selected Writing of . Armand on Sex and Love (forthcoming, 2019).
Editor, Capilano University Editions (2010-2015).
Editor, Open Text: Canadian Poetry & Poetics in the 21st Century, Vol. I-III (CUE, 2008, 2009, 2011).
Editor, PARSER: New Poetry & Poetics (2007-2009).
Guest Editor, Six Cities, The Capilano Review (2:47, Fall 2005).
Managing Editor, West Coast Line, Simon Fraser University, BC (2000-2004).
Selected Critical Writing
Farr, Roger Gangland and Linguistics. Introduction to The Essence of Jargon, Alice Becker-Ho. Autonomedia, Brooklyn, NY, 2015.
2010: No Nature Poetry After Eugene: Writing in the Shadow of the Green Scare. Dandelion 35:2, Calgary, AB.
2010: Poetic License: Hugo Ball and the Anarchist Avant-Garde. Anarchist Studies, London, UK.
2010: Voices in a Public Place: A Docudrama in Seven Acts on/for Micro-radio in Canada. Islands of Resistance: Pirate Radio in Canada, New Star, Vancouver, BC.
2009: Raoul Vaneigem. Encyclopedia of Protest and Revolution in World History: 1600 to Present. Ed. Immanuel Ness. Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
2009: Whiskerville Bake Shop & The Secret of the Commodity Form. Rad Dad #14.
2008: Intervox: Three Questions for Louis Cabri. The Capilano Review 3:6, North Vancouver, BC
2008: The Democracy Service. Rev. of Poetry and Pedagogy: The Challenge of the Contemporary. Eds. Joan Retallack and Juliana Spahr. The Poetic Front 1, Burnaby BC
2007: Against Stratification: Dorothy Trujillo Lusk's Ogress Oblige and the Poetics of Class Recomposition. XCP: Cross-Cultural Poetics 17.
2007: Anarchist Poetics. Fifth Estate 373, Detroit, MI.
2007: The Strategy of Concealment. Fifth Estate 374, Detroit, MI.
2006: Surprise, Improvisation, & Unpredictability: An Interview with Fred Wah. The Capilano Review 2:48, North Vancouver, BC
2005: Insurrectionary Wilderness of the I': Phyllis Webb's Anarchist Poetics. West Coast Line 45, Burnaby, BC.
Finalist, BC Book Prize (Poetry), IKMQ, 2013.
Numerous artist grants, Canada Council for the Arts, The Kootenay School of Writing and Access Copyright.
Grant for conducting research into the role of affect in online writing courses, Capilano Faculty Association, 2010-11.