William Hawkins - who'se hawkins

Canadian poet, musician, journalist and composer William Hawkins was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1940, where he continues to live and sporadically write poems.

From '64 to '71, Hawkins published five collections of poetry, appeared in two landmark anthologies, and started to become recognized nationally as a poet. He had a major impact on the Ottawa music scene as a singer-songwriter and instigator of adventurous new bands.

Ottawa had its own bohemian underground in those days, and the hub was Le Hibou, a legendary downtown coffee house. Musically speaking, Le Hibou was the only place to perform between Montreal and Toronto. At Le Hibou, William got to play host to the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell. Jimi Hendrix dropped by one night. Richie Havens came to party. Le Hibou gave local musicians their start, and played host to an all-star poetry series featuring Irving Layton, Leonard Cohen, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Jacques Godbout, John Robert Colombo and Bill Hawkins.

His force of personality, worldliness and relative maturity made Hawkins a natural leader. Just as importantly, he was writing plenty of strong, original material for his musicians to play. Harvey Glatt, then owner of Treble Clef record stores and Bass Clef Entertainments, and later founder and principal owner of CHEZ-FM, was there in the background, advising them on artistic, legal and financial matters, investing in their talent, giving them a chance. Harvey was, and remains, a quietly influential animator of Ottawa’s artistic life, an entrepreneur with soul. He was always a supporter of Hawkin’s peculiar genius.

William is the author of seven books of poetry, the most recent being his Selected Poems, also titled Dancing Alone, published by Broken Jaw Press in 2005.

The CD Dancing Alone, songs of William Hawkins was released by True North Records on September 30, 2008 mobilizing a wealth of Canadian musical talent.




	-- home /so who's hawkins
	Canadian poet, musician, journalist and composer William Hawkins was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1940, where he continues to live and sporadically write poems. From '64 to '71, Hawkins published five collections of poetry, appeared in two landmark anthologies, and started to become recognized nationally as a poet. He had a major impact on the Ottawa music scene as a singer-songwriter and instigator of adventurous new bands. Ottawa had its own bohemian underground in those days, and the hub was Le Hibou, a legendary downtown coffee house. Musically speaking, Le Hibou was the only place to perform between Montreal and Toronto. At Le Hibou, William got to play host to the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell. Jimi Hendrix dropped by one night. Richie Havens came to party. Le Hibou gave local musicians their start, and played host to an all-star poetry series featuring Irving Layton, Leonard Cohen, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Jacques Godbout, John Robert Colombo and Bill Hawkins. His force of personality, worldliness and relative maturity made Hawkins a natural leader. Just as importantly, he was writing plenty of strong, original material for his musicians to play. Harvey Glatt, then owner of Treble Clef record stores and Bass Clef Entertainments, and later founder and principal owner of CHEZ-FM, was there in the background, advising them on artistic, legal and financial matters, investing in their talent, giving them a chance. Harvey was, and remains, a quietly influential animator of Ottawa’s artistic life, an entrepreneur with soul. He was always a supporter of Hawkin’s peculiar genius. William is the author of seven books of poetry, the most recent being his Selected Poems, also titled Dancing Alone, published by Broken Jaw Press in 2005. The CD Dancing Alone, songs of William Hawkins was released by True North Records on September 30, 2008 mobilizing a wealth of Canadian musical talent.