Richard Grove is known as the man of the 7 Ps - Poet, Potter, President, Photographer, Painter, Publisher, Public Speaker.
He was born into an artist family in Hamilton, Ontario, on October 7, 1953. With both parents artists and art collectors he had a unique and early introduction into the world of visual art. His first experience with art was with photography when at the age of thirteen he purchased, with his father's enthusiasm and help, his first single lens reflex camera. Over the ensuing years, after leaving high school, he studied pottery at Mohawk College, design and pottery at Sheridan College, leading to his graduating in 1984 from the Experimental Arts Department at Ontario College of Art. In 1994 he graduated with honours from the Humber College, Arts Administration diploma course. In 2002 he returned to school to study computer courses relating to publishing.
Since graduating from Ontario College of Art, Richard has exhibited in more than twenty, solo and group exhibitions in Hamilton, Toronto, Boston, Calgary and Grand Prairie. He has his art in over thirty corporate collections across Canada. The most prominent of which are Esso Resources, Continental Insurance, Alberta Energy Corporation and Calgary District Hospital Group. These four companies alone represent a collection of almost thirty pieces of his work. Among the many corporate collections are six commissions of different styles and mediums ranging from pastel on paper to acrylic on canvas. His photography and digital paintings have been on the cover of numerous books. His book of digital paintings and poetry entitled Sky Over Presqu'ile was published in 2003, Substantiality a book of digital paintings was published in 2006 with a book of photography entitled Oxido Rojo released in the fall of 2006 followed by a book of Photography entitled tera firma.
Along with his visual art Richard has been writing poetry seriously for decades and has had over 100 of his poems published in periodicals and has been published in over 25 anthologies from around the world. Including his poetry he has 10 titles to his name. His first book of poetry titled Beyond Fear and Anger was released in 1997. His second book titled Poems For Jack was released in 2002. His ebook A Cuba Trip 2006 released in the spring of 2006. He is working on two new collections called Fictional Family Portraits of Not So Real Family Members and A Personal Boyhood History. He is also the author of numerous books with metaphysical themes including The Mind-Body Connection and Metaphysical Healing For a Secular Age.
He is an editor and publisher and runs a growing publishing company called Hidden Brook Press from which he publishes poetry contest anthologies and books of every genre for authors around the world. Aside from being a published poet Richard has also exhibited his poetry in acrylic on paper paintings as well as in audio sculptures. For his poetry and prose Richard has won a few prizes and honourable mentions as well as a finalist spot in two contest anthologies. For his short stories he has won a top ten prize.
Richard is the founder of the Canadian Poet Registry, an archival information website that lists Canadian poets including: biographical information, their book titles and awards. He was an active member of the Canadian Poetry Association for ten years serving on the executive for seven years including five as President. He is the founding president of both the CCLA (2004) - Canada Cuba Literary Alliance and the CCLA Federation of Photographers (2006). The CCLA has an international membership and boasts a full-colour literary journal called The Ambassador and a literary e-newsletter called The Envoy. He is the founding president of the Brighton Arts Council and the co-founder of the Purdy Country Literary Festival.
Richard has also been a public speaker MCing poetry readings. He has been invited by a number of literary groups as Feature Speaker on various topics in Cuba, Germany, USA, New Zealand and Canada. He was also the Feature Author as publisher/poet in the October 1998 issue of The Treasure Chest published out of Virginia, USA and Feature Poet in Poetry Canada in 2004.
Richard now lives with his wife, Kim, in Presqu'ile Provincial Park situated halfway between Toronto and Kingston. Their location is a constant inspiration for their work.
Circumnavigation Through the stench of fifty year old rolling steel and rubber, robbed of catalytic converters and filters, air filled with belching low grade local petroleum we keep our heads down fostering our human indifference as if it were a precious commodity. Squinting from heavy air we breath with shallow breaths hunched avoiding toxic inhalation. Head down we almost stumble on a sight that steers me, involuntarily back, in an opposite direction. Diverting awe struck magnetized eyes repulsed yet drawn in for rational explanation of mummified skeletal protrusions, silently shrieking profanity, matted petrified fur and crushed skull, tail still wagging free in breeze as if greeting you with bright eyes and slippers. Demanding ponderance turns to 10 second memorial, once loved, petted, fawned over now the mat of callous human indifference ignored by hundreds and hundreds every day, month after month now no longer seen as anything not even as a sad lump of death. This mummification is now little more than fostered blind human indifference. Sadder, head down mind back to dodging stench we move with stiffened apathy. What is this Obsession with Cuban Laundry I have photographs of colourful towels hanging from laundry lines strung between rusty window frame and slanted pole. Is it social commentary or a freedom code flapping with political punctuation? I have photographs of sexy pretty pink panties hanging unabashedly side by side with worn, grey, ugly, underpants -gigantic boxers Is it social commentary or a freedom code flapping with political punctuation? I have an artistic, carefully composed, photographic study of white sheets flapping against brilliant Cuban blue skies, stunning colour. Is it social commentary or a freedom code flapping with political punctuation? I have pictures of socks hanging, heels warn, toes pushed through, dripping. No yarn to darn, pointing down to grassless red earth of smooth swept backyard. Is it social commentary or a freedom code flapping with political punctuation? I have snapshots of brassieres, Che t-shirts, pants, all scrubbed clean, hanging in noonday Cuban heat flapping freely after a hard day of labour. Is it social commentary or a freedom code flapping with political punctuation? What is this obsession with Cuban laundry. Is it art or social commentary, statements about clean hearts and a loving people or just laundry! The Importance of Bones I was one of three sons called to do my duty. We met in June on a Saturday in the heat of the afternoon sun with a small basin, a sponge, rubbing alcohol, gloves and a decorated, inscribed ceramic box that the family could hardly afford. Somberly we prepared ourselves, a drink of rum, a few jokes to relieve the tension, maybe the fear. Slowly with great effort we moved the heavy stone lid. It groaned and grumbled as it ground along the upper edge of the sarcophagus opening. It thudded to the ground. We knew we would need help later to return it to its place. Father had been gone for what seemed like decades if not longer and it was time to put him in his final resting place but still there was pain. These were not just bones of the dead. They were the bones of living memories of a vibrant, strong man once full of strength and life. He was our life, our pain and our joy the love and the hate of our lives for so many years. The inner lid of the coffin was removed, sun screamed in, cockroaches scrambled from the skull, dust flew filling the air with a fine white powder to be caught in our ill adjusted masks. The smell of five years staggered us back to catch our breath. One by one we removed the bones fragile, alabaster slivers of foundation. We scraped, scrubbed, rubbed, preened and purified every bone that could be found in the dust of a millennium, we removed calcified skin from his hand cleaned his teeth wondering where the gold tooth was that finished the smile that we remembered only too well. The ritual of cleaning was finished. Every bone placed in linen side by side as if arranging valued silverware for storage precious pottery for shipping. My final thought as we placed our father's bones into the small opening in the tall white wall was I will never cease to be amazed by the importance of bones.
Email Richard Grove at writers@hiddenbrookpress.com
the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance
the Canadian Poet Registry