Stephen Cain

Stephen Cain was born in 1970. He received his H.BA in English Literature from Queen’s University in 1993, before going to York University to obtain both his MA (1995) and PhD (2002) in English Literature, writing his dissertation on the developing identities of Coach House Press and Anansi Press. In addition to his work as an academic, Cain found time to publish two poetry collections before completing his PhD, as well as writing numerous chapbooks and broadsides.

In addition to his written poetry, Cain also has released a CD for his sound poetry (Carnivocal, 1999), and his visual poetry has been published internationally. Specializing in the field of cultural production, Cain’s artistic work reflects his critical insights. His style is often described as “post-L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E” in so far as he uses formal constraint in writing his poems and follows or reinvents established poetic forms. Cain’s work often aims to blur both linguistic borders and issues of national identity, achieved through his technique of hyper-referencing.

Cain has taught Canadian Literature and Prose Fiction at Wilfred Laurier University, and Canadian Studies, Canadian Women’s Writing, and Canadian Fiction at Seneca College. Additionally, Cain has worked as literary editor for the literary journal Queen Street Quarterly. Cain currently resides in Toronto where he works as an Assistant Professor in the School of Arts and Letters for York University, teaching avant-garde literatures; as well as working as the fiction editor at Insomniac Press.

Bibliography
dyslexicon (1999)
Torontology (2001)
American Standard/ Canada Dry (2005)
The Encyclopedia of Fictional and Fantastic Languages (co-author with Tim Conley, 2006)

Awards
York English Teaching Assistant Award (2000)
Ontario Arts Council Writers’ Reserve for Literary Commentary (2004)