Jim Johnstone (poet)

Jim Johnstone (born 1978) is a Canadian poet and editor who trained as a reproductive physiologist. ^[1] He was born in Stouffville, Ontario ^[2] and is the author of seven collections of poetry.

Johnstone's work has received numerous awards including Arc Poetry Magazine's Readers' Choice Award, ^[3] a CBC Literary Award, ^[4] the E. J. Pratt Medal and Prize in Poetry, ^[5] Matrix Magazine's Lit-Pop Award, ^[6] the Ralph Gustafson Poetry Prize, ^[7] and he won This Magazine's Great Canadian Literary Hunt. ^[8]

Johnstone is the former editor of Misunderstandings Magazine, a literary journal he founded with Ian Williams and Vicki Sloot in 2005, ^[9] and the former poetry editor for Cactus Press. ^[10] He is currently the senior poetry editor at Palimpsest Press ^[11] and the editor-in-chief of Anstruther Press. ^[12]

Publications

Poetry

• The Velocity of Escape. Guernica Editions, 2008.
• Patternicity. Nightwood Editions, 2010.
• Sunday, the locusts. Tightrope Books, 2011.
• Dog Ear. Véhicule Press, 2014.
• The Chemical Life. Véhicule Press, 2017.
• Infinity Network. Véhicule Press, 2022.
• The King of Terrors. Coach House Books, 2023.

Non-fiction

• Write, Print, Fold and Staple: On Poetry and Micropress in Canada. Gaspereau Press, 2023.
• Bait & Switch: Essays, Reviews, Conversations, and Views on Canadian Poetry. The Porcupine's Quill, 2024.
• Fast-Vanishing Speech. Gaspereau Press, 2024; with Christopher Patton & Klara du Plessis.

As editor

• The Essential Earle Birney. The Porcupine's Quill, 2014.
• The Essential D. G. Jones. The Porcupine's Quill, 2016.
• The Next Wave: An Anthology of 21st Century Canadian Poetry. Anstruther Books, 2018.
• The Anstruther Reader: Ten Years of Poems, Broadsides, and Manifestos. Anstruther Books, 2024.

About

• Proofs & Equational Love: The Poetry of Jim Johnstone. Frog Hollow Press, 2011.

References

1. Cole, Stewart (Winter 2015). "Between the Lines: A Conversation Between Stewart Cole & Jim Johnstone". Boxcar Poetry Review. No. 35. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
2. "Stouffville Native wins CBC Literary Award". Archived from the original on 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
3. "Canadian Gothic : Arc Poetry". Arcpoetry.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
4. "CBC Radio | Literary Awards | 2008". Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
5. "Jim Johnstone". Canadian Literature. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
6. "Matrix 91: The Mixtape | Matrix Magazine". Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
7. "NewPages Blog: Fiddlehead Contest Winners". Archived from the original on 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
8. "Great Canadian Literary Hunt 2010: Evel Knievel Negotiates the Fountain at Caesar's Palace by Jim Johnstone". This Magazine. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
9. "Masthead". Misunderstandings Magazine. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Misunderstandings Magazine. Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
10. "About". Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Cactus Press. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
11. "Palimpsest Press: our mission and mandate". Palimpsest Press. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
12. "About". Anstruther Press. Retrieved 2025-09-30.