John Donlan was raised in Baysville, a hamlet of 200 people in Ontario's Muskoka district on the Canadian Shield. His father worked with teams of horses hauling logs in the bush; neighbours raised skunks, crows, and porcupines as domestic pets (a neighbour's crow, named for his father, stole clothespins from the wash to tease his mother). Surrounded by some of Canada's most beautiful wilderness (celebrated in the paintings of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven), the poet developed a deep sense of belonging in the natural world. He works as a reference librarian at the Vancouver Public Library and is a poetry editor with Brick Books. John Donlan's poems and reviews have appeared in leading journals in Canada, the United States, and Iran. Additionally, he has given readings and conducted writing workshops in schools, libraries, universities, and art galleries throughout Canada and the United States while his books of poetry – Domestic Economy, Baysville, Green Man, and Spirit Engine – are available either from the author or the works' respective publishers; the four volumes can also be found in fine bookstores across the continent.
Domestic Economy, Brick Books, 1990; reprinted 1997, 58 pp.
Baysville, House of Anansi, 1993, 63 pp.
Green Man, Ronsdale Press, 1999, 82 pp.
Spirit Engine, Brick Books, 2008, 80 pp.
Great Lakes Logia (Broken Jaw Press, 2001); Why I Sing The Blues (Smoking Lung Press, 2001); New Canadian Poetry (Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2000); New Life in Dark Seas: Brick Books 25 (Brick Books, 2000); Riprap: Fiction and Poetry from the Banff Centre for the Arts (Banff Centre Press, 1999); Windhorse Reader: Choice Poems of '93 (Samurai Press, 1994); Vintage 92: Prize-Winning Poems from the League of Canadian Poets (Sono Nis, 1993); Images 88 (London Public Libraries and Museums, 1988); Summer Images 1984: An Anthology of London Authors (London Public Libraries and Museums, 1985)
John Donlan's poetry and critical writings have been featured in several prestigious publications including The Antigonish Review, Border/Lines, Caliban, Canadian Literature, The Canadian Forum, The Capilano Review, CV2, Dandelion, Event, The Fiddlehead, Grain, The Literary Review of Canada, The Malahat Review, New American Writing, The New Quarterly, Poetry Canada, Prism International, Quarry, Rampike, She'r (in Persian translation), Sideshow, This Magazine, The Toronto Star, Wayne Literary Review, What!, and The Word Enamel.
"In Search of the Way to Get from A to B," by Cary Fagan (London Free Press, 28 April 1990); "Domestic Economy," by Mark Young (Scene, 10 May 1990); "Domestic Economy," by D. Parker (Fringe Benefits, July/August 1990); "Domestic Economy," by J. K. Snyder (The Antigonish Review, Summer 1991);
"Domestic Economy," by Chris Faiers (Canadian Book Review Annual, 1990); "Probing the Human Existence," by John Tyndall (London Free Press, 5 June 1993); "Baysville," by Mark Young (Scene, 15/28 July 1993); "Signs of the Tar Baby," by Mary Dalton (Books in Canada, December 1993); "Windows, Not Frames," by Jay Ruzesky (Event, Winter 1993/94); "Three Poets," by Cary Fagan (The Globe and Mail, 12 February 1994); "Wisdom Systems," by Craig W. McLuckie (Canadian Literature, Summer 1995); "Green Man," by Ronnie R. Brown (Canadian Bookseller, October 1999); "Under the Leaves," by Meg Walker (Monday Magazine, 13/19 April 2000); "John Donlan" (Journal of Commonwealth Literature 35, 2000); "Exploring Rivers, Landscapes: Outer and Inner," by Gillian Harding-Russell (Event, Summer 2000); "Green Man," by Hugh Oliver (Canadian Book Review Annual, 2001)
