born May 13, 1904, Calgary, Alta., Northwest Territories [Canada]
died Sept. 3, 1995, Toronto, Ont.
Canadian poet and educator.
Birney received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and brought out his first collection of poetry, David (1942, Governor General's Award), during his time there. After serving in World War II, he published Now Is Time (1946, Governor General's Award) and other collections and held a number of teaching and editorial positions. His love of language led him to experiment with sound poems and to explore concrete poetry; he also wrote two novels, a drama in verse, and several radio plays.