John Mikhail Asfour, PhD

John Mikhail Asfour, PhD

Writer-in-residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House in March to May 2009.


John Mikhail Asfour was a Lebanese Canadian poet, writer, and teacher. At the age of 13, a grenade exploded in his face, blinding him during the Lebanese crisis of 1958.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to restore his sight, he moved to Canada in 1968. He earned his PhD in poetry from McGill University and went on to teach as a professor of literature in Montreal.

His academic background demonstrated his deep appreciation of the art of writing and translation, and he continued to enjoy dealing with persons of diverse backgrounds in new literary contexts and endeavours. Besides making a significant contribution to his area of specialty over a number of years, he was very active in lecturing and publishing and worked on a new book of poetry entitled “Blindfold” during his residency. Blindfold was published by McGill-Queens in 2011.

His publications include five books of poetry in English and two in Arabic. When the Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry, 19451987, was shortlisted for the John Glassco Award and the Frank Scott (League of Poets) Award in 1989. Since then, it has been released in subsequent editions in Canada and in the Middle East, including an Arabic translation published in Beirut and Damascus in 2004. Another book of translations, Joy Is Not My Profession: Selected Poems of Muhammad al-Maghut, was published by Véhicule Press in 1994.

John Asfour complemented literary pursuits with service in the human rights sector. He served for six years as president of the Canadian Arab Federation and was a Canadian delegate to the 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism in South Africa. He also co-founded a Montreal-based human rights organization and was selected to receive the first national Volunteer Sector Initiative Award with recognition from the Prime Minister.

RESIDENCY AT HISTORIC JOY KOGAWA HOUSE

During his Spring 2009 residency at Historic Joy Kogawa, John Asfour worked with a number of writing communities, including:

  • High school students who visited Kogawa house and discussed their writing, helping them to understand the significance of the house and the Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan, which they had just read.
  • Elementary school students from the BC Muslim School, with whom he discussed Arabic poetry and his translations of those poems into English, inspiring them to write their own poetry.
  • Seniors who are visually impaired or who volunteer their time with the visually impaired, reading and discussing poetry with them, but also sharing his life experience as a blind man and a writer.
  • Lovers of poetry and literature who attended readings with local writers Daphne Marlatt, George Stanley, Nilofar Shidmehr, Ann Eriksson, and Gary Geddes for readings at Historic Joy Kogawa House, as well as two out-of-town writers—Ann Diamond from Montreal and Judy Rebick from Toronto.
  • Lovers of literature who attended an evening of modern Arabic poetry read in Arabic and in translation, along with a discussion of its history and development.
  • Aspiring and more established writers, mainly from the Simon Fraser University Writers Studio and the University of British Columbia Creative Writing program, but also from the Federation of BC Writers, with whom Asfour generously shared his time during one-on-one consultations, relating to them the joy of being a writer and how it is still possible to make a valuable contribution to Canadian literature.

In particular, with Asfour’s background as a literary translator, he was able to assist a student poet from Kazakhstan for whom Historic Joy Kogawa House has arranged a five-month educational exchange and poetry translation program through Poet in the City, London, and the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Asfour inspired confidence in young Akerke Mussabekova such that she began to write in English the 20 poems required as an outcome of her program. Asfour’s experience as a literary translator also assisted students from Professor Rhea Tregebov’s literary translation course in the University of British Columbia Creative Writing program who came to consult with him. He also assisted other writers who translate poetry or other genres.

Asfour’s most intense and rewarding collaboration was with the Thursdays Writing Collective at the Carnegie Community Centre. Led by Elee Kraljii Gardiner of Simon Fraser University’s Writers’ Studio, these writing classes turn a third-floor classroom in a building at Hastings and Main into a playground where writers from the Downtown Eastside give voice to issues that range from class struggle to child abuse to mental instability and addiction. Several authors commented that their time in the classroom with Asfour “unleashed a beast in me,” “jumpstarted my creativity,” “made something click after writing on my own for 20 years on the streets.”

Asfour’s editing suggestions were so appreciated that he was invited to co-edit a chapbook of class writing that was released at a public reading held Thursday, June 25, three weeks after his residency had ended and he had returned to Montreal. Gardiner and others at the Writers Studio “cobbled together air miles and other donations” and flew Asfour back to Vancouver for the reading and for a two-hour editing workshop the following afternoon.

The audience at the reading during Asfour’s return visit was evidence of this author’s ability to bring together people of diverse background, to reach across differences to find common creativity, and to keep in touch despite the distance and diversity. Attendees ranged from the writers of the Downtown Eastside to instructors and students in the SFU Writers Studio to writers Asfour had consulted with on a one-to-one basis during his residency. The wide range of people who attended this event were representative of the many directions Asfour took our inaugural residency at Historic Joy Kogawa House and the impact he had on the writing and literary community here. We are most grateful for the connections he has made.

V6A: Writing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, edited by John Mikhail Asfour and Elee Kraljii Gardiner (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2012)

John Asfour, Blindfold (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2011

John Mikhail Asfour, PhD

John Mikhail Asfour, PhD

Writer-in-residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House in March to May 2009.


John Mikhail Asfour was a Lebanese Canadian poet, writer, and teacher. At the age of 13, a grenade exploded in his face, blinding him during the Lebanese crisis of 1958.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to restore his sight, he moved to Canada in 1968. He earned his PhD in poetry from McGill University and went on to teach as a professor of literature in Montreal.

His academic background demonstrated his deep appreciation of the art of writing and translation, and he continued to enjoy dealing with persons of diverse backgrounds in new literary contexts and endeavours. Besides making a significant contribution to his area of specialty over a number of years, he was very active in lecturing and publishing and worked on a new book of poetry entitled “Blindfold” during his residency. Blindfold was published by McGill-Queens in 2011.

His publications include five books of poetry in English and two in Arabic. When the Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry, 19451987, was shortlisted for the John Glassco Award and the Frank Scott (League of Poets) Award in 1989. Since then, it has been released in subsequent editions in Canada and in the Middle East, including an Arabic translation published in Beirut and Damascus in 2004. Another book of translations, Joy Is Not My Profession: Selected Poems of Muhammad al-Maghut, was published by Véhicule Press in 1994.

John Asfour complemented literary pursuits with service in the human rights sector. He served for six years as president of the Canadian Arab Federation and was a Canadian delegate to the 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism in South Africa. He also co-founded a Montreal-based human rights organization and was selected to receive the first national Volunteer Sector Initiative Award with recognition from the Prime Minister.

RESIDENCY AT HISTORIC JOY KOGAWA HOUSE

During his Spring 2009 residency at Historic Joy Kogawa, John Asfour worked with a number of writing communities, including:

  • High school students who visited Kogawa house and discussed their writing, helping them to understand the significance of the house and the Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan, which they had just read.
  • Elementary school students from the BC Muslim School, with whom he discussed Arabic poetry and his translations of those poems into English, inspiring them to write their own poetry.
  • Seniors who are visually impaired or who volunteer their time with the visually impaired, reading and discussing poetry with them, but also sharing his life experience as a blind man and a writer.
  • Lovers of poetry and literature who attended readings with local writers Daphne Marlatt, George Stanley, Nilofar Shidmehr, Ann Eriksson, and Gary Geddes for readings at Historic Joy Kogawa House, as well as two out-of-town writers—Ann Diamond from Montreal and Judy Rebick from Toronto.
  • Lovers of literature who attended an evening of modern Arabic poetry read in Arabic and in translation, along with a discussion of its history and development.
  • Aspiring and more established writers, mainly from the Simon Fraser University Writers Studio and the University of British Columbia Creative Writing program, but also from the Federation of BC Writers, with whom Asfour generously shared his time during one-on-one consultations, relating to them the joy of being a writer and how it is still possible to make a valuable contribution to Canadian literature.

In particular, with Asfour’s background as a literary translator, he was able to assist a student poet from Kazakhstan for whom Historic Joy Kogawa House has arranged a five-month educational exchange and poetry translation program through Poet in the City, London, and the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Asfour inspired confidence in young Akerke Mussabekova such that she began to write in English the 20 poems required as an outcome of her program. Asfour’s experience as a literary translator also assisted students from Professor Rhea Tregebov’s literary translation course in the University of British Columbia Creative Writing program who came to consult with him. He also assisted other writers who translate poetry or other genres.

Asfour’s most intense and rewarding collaboration was with the Thursdays Writing Collective at the Carnegie Community Centre. Led by Elee Kraljii Gardiner of Simon Fraser University’s Writers’ Studio, these writing classes turn a third-floor classroom in a building at Hastings and Main into a playground where writers from the Downtown Eastside give voice to issues that range from class struggle to child abuse to mental instability and addiction. Several authors commented that their time in the classroom with Asfour “unleashed a beast in me,” “jumpstarted my creativity,” “made something click after writing on my own for 20 years on the streets.”

Asfour’s editing suggestions were so appreciated that he was invited to co-edit a chapbook of class writing that was released at a public reading held Thursday, June 25, three weeks after his residency had ended and he had returned to Montreal. Gardiner and others at the Writers Studio “cobbled together air miles and other donations” and flew Asfour back to Vancouver for the reading and for a two-hour editing workshop the following afternoon.

The audience at the reading during Asfour’s return visit was evidence of this author’s ability to bring together people of diverse background, to reach across differences to find common creativity, and to keep in touch despite the distance and diversity. Attendees ranged from the writers of the Downtown Eastside to instructors and students in the SFU Writers Studio to writers Asfour had consulted with on a one-to-one basis during his residency. The wide range of people who attended this event were representative of the many directions Asfour took our inaugural residency at Historic Joy Kogawa House and the impact he had on the writing and literary community here. We are most grateful for the connections he has made.

V6A: Writing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, edited by John Mikhail Asfour and Elee Kraljii Gardiner (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2012)

John Asfour, Blindfold (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2011)

Latest Blog Postings about John Asfour

John Asfour to read Tuesday, April 17

John Asfour to read Tuesday, April 17

Please join John Mikhail Asfour at Historic Joy Kogawa House on Tuesday, April 17, 7:30 till 9:00pm, for readings from his poetry collection, Blindfold. John Asfour served as our inaugural writer-in-residence in 2009, and during his three-month residency he completed...

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