Patrick Woodcock is the author of 10 books of poetry and countless reviews. His work has been translated and published in 14 languages. Since travel is so essential to his work, Mr. Woodcock has lived and worked in such diverse countries as Iceland, Poland, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Sultanate of Oman, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, The Kurdish North of Iraq and Azerbaijan. Within Canada he has travelled from the West to East coasts, as well as working as a volunteer for almost a year with the elders of Fort Good Hope, NT – 20km south of the Arctic Circle.
His seventh book Always Die Before Your Mother was shortlisted for Canada’s ReLit award in 2010 and reached the number one spot on the Globe and Mail’s bestseller list. His 8th book Echo Gods and Silent Mountains was extremely well reviewed all over the world and was called “…the most beautiful, deep and touching collection of poetry written on Kurds by a non-Kurd.” by the Kurdish media network, Rudaw. He has read at International poetry festival’s in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, the Kurdish North of Iraq, Azerbaijan, England, The Republic of Georgia, Tanzania, Kenya and Canada’s Winnipeg International Writers Festival. While living in Colombia he read at the Ibague Poetry Festival, The XVIII Medellin International Poetry Festival and was the first poet from outside of Latin America to ever read at the Bogota Poetry Festival. Patrick’s ninth book of poetry You can’t bury them all which is set in the Kurdish North of Iraq, Fort Good Hope, NT Canada and Azerbaijan was published by ECW Press in 2016. You can’t bury them all won the Alcuin Society Book Design Award for Poetry and was shortlisted for the JM Abraham Poetry Award in 2017.
After living for two years in Tanzania as a volunteer at Baraa Primary School, Arusha, Patrick moved to the hamlet of Paulatuk in the Inuvik region of the Northwest Territories to work while completing Farhang Book I which CBC Books called a must read in Canadian poetry for the fall of 2023. Patrick now resides in Iqaluit, Nunavut where he is completing Farhang Book II while working as a coordinator/instructor for United For Literacy. Because his work can never escape the politics of where he resides, he is also a member of PEN Canada.
PUBLICATIONS
Poetry:
- The Six O’Clock Club
- AThElia
- Scarring Endymion
- The Challenged One
- Controlling Mastema
- Theatre of Panic (New and Selected in Bosnian)
- Always Die Before Your Mother
- Echo Gods and Silent Mountains
- Tipping Coffins (New and Selected in Azeri)
- Ceiling Shrapnel (New and Selected in Serbian)
- You can’t bury them all
- Farhang Book 1
Nonfiction:
- The Ballet of Patrick Blue Ass (AWOL – Tales for a Travel Inspired Minds)
AWARDS
- ReLit Award – shortlisted for poetry – Always Die Before Your Mother – 2010
- Alcuin Society Award for Poetry (First Prize) – You can’t bury them all – 2017
- JM Abraham Poetry Award – shortlisted – You can’t bury them all – 2017