Terpstra, John
Biography
John Terpstra was born in Brockville, Ontario, spent his grade school years in Edmonton, his highschool years in Hamilton, and his college and university years in Chicago and Toronto, before finally settling in Hamilton. He is self-employed as a cabinetmaker and carpenter. The influence of his Dutch Calvinist heritage is apparent in the textures and themes of Terpstra's work, as in Forty Days and Forty Nights, which tells the story of his family's emigration, "the immigrant experience ... amplified and clarified by the Christian reference" (Canadian Literature No. 124-5, Spring-Summer 1990 p 351-3). Themes of community, place and environment, and the interrelationships among these, are recurring threads. The nuanced materials of work and life are explored in the collection, Naked Trees, "one person's affirmation of the links among root, stem, and sky, and our memories beside them" (Canadian Book Review Annual, 1990). Similarly, Terpstra's non-fiction piece, "Where in the World is Burlington Heights?" (Broadway, Sept./Oct., 1994) explores the strata, through time and space, of a landscape taken for granted by contemporary Hamiltonians. An expanded version of this award winning article appeared as a 3 part series in the Hamilton Spectator, November 14,15,16, 1995 as "Exploring Hamilton's Other Hill;" "Events Written into the Landscape;" and "A Landform Transformed." These articles formed the basis for his first extended prose work, Falling into Place.
Awards & Recognitions
Hamilton and Region Arts Council Poetry Collection/Anthology Award (2001)(regional) Nod Me In, Shake Me Out
Hamilton and Region Arts Council Poetry Book Prize (1999) (regional) Devil's Punch Bowl
GUI (God Uses Ink) Prize for poetry (1999) (national) To God, as a Small Pest, and Atonement, two poems from Devil's Punch Bowl
Hamilton and Region Arts Council Poetry Book Prize (1998) (regional) The Church Not Made With Hands
Hamilton and Region Arts Council First Prize for Non-Fiction (1995) (regional) "Where in the world is Burlington Heights?"
CBC Radio Literary Competition (1991) (national) First Prize for Poetry (poem or series of poems) Captain Kintail
Il Premio Francesco Guiseppe Bressani Prize for Poetry also known as the Bressani Prize (1988) (national) Forty Days and Forty Nights
Other Information
Related Websites and Blogs
Published Work
2009. Skin boat. Gaspereau Press (Non-fiction)
2006. Two or three guitars : selected poems. Kentville, N.S. : Gaspereau Press (Poetry)
2005. The boys : or, waiting for the electrician's daughter. Kentville, NS : Gaspereau Press (Poetry)
2003. Disarmament. Kentville, N.S. : Gaspereau Press (Poetry)
2003. Disarmament : Uncle Leon's letter. Hamilton, Ont. : J. Terpstra (Poetry)
2002. Falling into place. Wolfville, N.S. : Gaspereau Press (Poetry)
2000?. Restoration. Wolfville, N.S. : Gaspereau Press (Poetry)
1999. Two couples, four voices. [s.l. : s.n., 1999?] (Poetry)
1998. The Church where we go to now : beach tension art : a second threesome. [s.l. : s.n., 1998] (Poetry)
1998. The Church where we go to now : humus, logos, silence : a threesome. [s.l. : s.n., 1998] (Poetry)
1998. Atonement : a poem. [s.l. : s.n., 1998] (Poetry)
1998. Devil's punch bowl. Toronto : The St. Thomas Poetry Series (Poetry)
1997. The Church not made with hands. Don Mills, Ont. : Wolsak and Wynn (Poetry)
1992. Captain Kintail. Windsor, Ont. : Netherlandic Press (Poetry)
1990. Naked trees. Windsor, Ont. : Netherlandic Press (Poetry)
1987. Forty days & forty nights. Windsor, Ont. : Netherlandic Press (Poetry)
1982. Scrabbling for repose, and other poems. Toronto : Split Reed Press (Poetry)
