Dennis Cooley has lived most of his life on the Canadian prairies, where for over 40 years he has been active as teacher, editor, poet, critic, anthologist, publisher, mentor, and supporter of writing. His work has been immersed in family, the prairies, and a play with form. His most recent titles include The Home Place (essays on Robert Kroetsch's poetry), and two books of poetry - Abecedarium and Departures.
Inspired by the worlds of nature and literature, Matthews creates music that encourages the listener to step beyond the everyday, to dwell for a while in images of paradox, to consider the ever-changing tapestry of life.
Michael Matthews completed a Ph.D. in composition at North Texas State University in 1985. In 2012 Matthews retired from twenty-seven years of full-time teaching at the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music, University of Manitoba; he is now Professor Emeritus there. Matthews is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and currently lives and works in Berlin.
Matthews is also active as a photographer, and his abstract images were recently exhibited in Germany and the US. Canadian publisher At Bay Press will shortly be releasing The Gibbous Moon, a book of photography and poetry created in collaboration with poet Dennis Cooley.
