Books

ILB: Ken Babstock

Born in 1970, the Toronto-based writer published his first collection in 1999 and has since been consistently selected for anthologies of the best Canadian poetry.

Image for ILB: Ken Babstock
Photo by Carolin Seeliger Ken Babstock

Born in 1970, the Toronto-based writer published his first collection in 1999 and has since been consistently selected for anthologies of the best Canadian poetry.

Describe yourself with three words starting with the same letter.

Inconclusive, irremediable, immortal.

When/where do you write?

November 23, 2024. Kuala Lumpur

Your favourite character?

That guy, that voice, from Beckett’s The Unnameable, who can’t not talk, what’s his name, I’ve forgotten his name, you know who I mean, what’s his name?

Complete this phrase: “I got off the train in Berlin and standing on the platform was…

…more difficult than starting a book but easier than finishing one. On the platform. In Berlin. Having just got off the train.

Choose a famous person and recommend to her/him any reading available today.

To Owen Hargreaves, I recommend The Collected Poems of Frederick Seidel. And Schopenhauer.

Your favourite literary character?

Hal Incandenza.

Sep 8, 20:00, “Poetry Night I”