Alden Nowlan
Biography
Alden Nowlan - Photo Courtesy of cbc.ca
Alden Nowlan was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia on January 25th, 1933. Nowlan’s Maritime origins are central to his writing, as he explored the world around him with an inquisitive and thoughtful mind, translating much of what he saw in life into writing.
Before his writing career flourished, Nowlan worked a series of basic jobs after leaving school early at grade four. Much of the employment he undertook was labour-based, with positions as a pulp cutter, night watchman, and ditch digger. Within his family, education was dismissed as a frivolous thing. Consequently, Nowlan left home to explore the world and focus on his writing, initially through numerous newspapers. Nowlan did what he had to to get by, which he demonstrated by practicing as a band manager and radio broadcaster, and through two years of service as secretary of the New Brunswick Fish and Game Protective Association.
In the late 1960s, Nowlan was designated the writer-in-residence of the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. It was there that he spent the last of his days garnering an honorary Doctoral degree of Letters from UNB in 1971 and an honorary Doctorate degree of Laws from Dalhousie Law School in 1976. Nowlan won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry in 1967, and has a Provincial Poetry award in his name as well as being the name of the UNB Graduate House (Windsor Castle – The Alden Nowland House). He passed away on June 27th, 1983 at the age of 50. Canada had an immense impact on his mind, body, and soul; he returned the favour through the country’s literary community.
Before his writing career flourished, Nowlan worked a series of basic jobs after leaving school early at grade four. Much of the employment he undertook was labour-based, with positions as a pulp cutter, night watchman, and ditch digger. Within his family, education was dismissed as a frivolous thing. Consequently, Nowlan left home to explore the world and focus on his writing, initially through numerous newspapers. Nowlan did what he had to to get by, which he demonstrated by practicing as a band manager and radio broadcaster, and through two years of service as secretary of the New Brunswick Fish and Game Protective Association.
In the late 1960s, Nowlan was designated the writer-in-residence of the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. It was there that he spent the last of his days garnering an honorary Doctoral degree of Letters from UNB in 1971 and an honorary Doctorate degree of Laws from Dalhousie Law School in 1976. Nowlan won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry in 1967, and has a Provincial Poetry award in his name as well as being the name of the UNB Graduate House (Windsor Castle – The Alden Nowland House). He passed away on June 27th, 1983 at the age of 50. Canada had an immense impact on his mind, body, and soul; he returned the favour through the country’s literary community.
Your body’s a small word with many meanings.
Love. If. Yes. But. Death.
Surely I will love you a little while,
perhaps as long as I have breath.
December is thirteen months long,
July’s one afternoon; therefore,
lovers must outwit wool,
learn how to puncture fur.
To my love’s bed, to keep her warm,
I’ll carry wrapped and heated stones.
That which is comfort to the flesh
is sometimes torture to the bones.
Published in Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems (House of Anasi Press Inc., 2003).
Used with permission of the Author’s Literary Executor.
Love. If. Yes. But. Death.
Surely I will love you a little while,
perhaps as long as I have breath.
December is thirteen months long,
July’s one afternoon; therefore,
lovers must outwit wool,
learn how to puncture fur.
To my love’s bed, to keep her warm,
I’ll carry wrapped and heated stones.
That which is comfort to the flesh
is sometimes torture to the bones.
Published in Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems (House of Anasi Press Inc., 2003).
Used with permission of the Author’s Literary Executor.
Critical Analysis: Realistic and Spiritual Meaning in "Canadian Love Song"
Dan Campbell (for ENGL 3403)
Although Alden Nowlan was a quiet man whose intelligence was not obviously reflected in his public life, his “affection for ordinary people” allowed him to carry a deeper understanding of things in a philosophical light, as in his poem “Canadian Love Song” (Fetherling 1).
With a firm grasp on reality, Nowlan describes a lover in terms of advantages; her body provides him with a partner in life, one who improves his otherwise harsh world. For example, while together, they help each other in everyday tasks like making warm clothes for long winters: “lovers must outwit wool,/learn to puncture fur” (36). Nowlan furthers the significance of this quote by literary devices. His use of onomatopoeia and half rhymes makes winter’s harshness evident to readers through spoken word. Canada’s bitter winters force people to huddle together both literally and culturally. In “Canadian Love Song,” Nowlan embraces the upside to winter, which pushes people together; for a warm body beside one’s own in bed is one of the most efficient ways of bearing the nightly chill in Canada. Like many others, Nowlan values love’s presence in his life, but as a Canadian poet, he has practical views on togetherness.
Nowlan’s realism becomes surreal by Alessandro Porco’s definition: “if surrealism succeeds, it succeeds precisely because it unconceals [sic] the deceptive myth of order that checks the individual’s imagination” (1). As winter binds lovers together, Nowlan experiences his lover’s body as “a small word with many meanings,” which makes him consider love: “Love. If. Yes. But. Death.” (36). Thus, the opening of the poem shows how his love is a lifelong devotion. His mortality is tied to that of his lover’s. Though Nowlan enjoys sharing the abrasive natural world of Canada with his lover, what he values most is how she complements his heart and soul. Nowlan fears nature will overtake him, but those feelings are lessened by her presence; not just her pragmatic help, but her company in such unforgiving terrain. Their love is more than a tool for survival; it is a fire for Nowlan’s soul amidst an otherwise vast darkness.
On a personal level, Canada’s rural inhabitants were one of Nowlan’s reasons for not leaving the country. They made his cold tundra into a strong home for strong people, and the love generated from such is invaluable. Nowlan sings this note in his “Canadian Love Song” through contradictions of personality and meaning, and uses the rough and varied exterior of life outside his body to match the elegance and depth of his learned mind within it.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Nowlan, Alden. Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems. Ed. Susan Musgrave. Scarborough: House of Anasi Press Inc., 2003. 36.
Porco, Alessandro. “I Cut My Finger.” Northern Poetry Review. 1. Toronto: Coach House, 2008.
Although Alden Nowlan was a quiet man whose intelligence was not obviously reflected in his public life, his “affection for ordinary people” allowed him to carry a deeper understanding of things in a philosophical light, as in his poem “Canadian Love Song” (Fetherling 1).
With a firm grasp on reality, Nowlan describes a lover in terms of advantages; her body provides him with a partner in life, one who improves his otherwise harsh world. For example, while together, they help each other in everyday tasks like making warm clothes for long winters: “lovers must outwit wool,/learn to puncture fur” (36). Nowlan furthers the significance of this quote by literary devices. His use of onomatopoeia and half rhymes makes winter’s harshness evident to readers through spoken word. Canada’s bitter winters force people to huddle together both literally and culturally. In “Canadian Love Song,” Nowlan embraces the upside to winter, which pushes people together; for a warm body beside one’s own in bed is one of the most efficient ways of bearing the nightly chill in Canada. Like many others, Nowlan values love’s presence in his life, but as a Canadian poet, he has practical views on togetherness.
Nowlan’s realism becomes surreal by Alessandro Porco’s definition: “if surrealism succeeds, it succeeds precisely because it unconceals [sic] the deceptive myth of order that checks the individual’s imagination” (1). As winter binds lovers together, Nowlan experiences his lover’s body as “a small word with many meanings,” which makes him consider love: “Love. If. Yes. But. Death.” (36). Thus, the opening of the poem shows how his love is a lifelong devotion. His mortality is tied to that of his lover’s. Though Nowlan enjoys sharing the abrasive natural world of Canada with his lover, what he values most is how she complements his heart and soul. Nowlan fears nature will overtake him, but those feelings are lessened by her presence; not just her pragmatic help, but her company in such unforgiving terrain. Their love is more than a tool for survival; it is a fire for Nowlan’s soul amidst an otherwise vast darkness.
On a personal level, Canada’s rural inhabitants were one of Nowlan’s reasons for not leaving the country. They made his cold tundra into a strong home for strong people, and the love generated from such is invaluable. Nowlan sings this note in his “Canadian Love Song” through contradictions of personality and meaning, and uses the rough and varied exterior of life outside his body to match the elegance and depth of his learned mind within it.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Nowlan, Alden. Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems. Ed. Susan Musgrave. Scarborough: House of Anasi Press Inc., 2003. 36.
Porco, Alessandro. “I Cut My Finger.” Northern Poetry Review. 1. Toronto: Coach House, 2008.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Nowlan, Alden. “A Bubble Dancer and the Wickedest Man in Carleton County.” The Fiddlehead 125 (1980): 75-7.
---. A Darkness in the Earth. Hearse Chapbooks 6. Eureka: Hearse, [1959].
---. Alden Nowlan and Illness. Ed. Shane Neilson. Victoria: Frog Hollow, 2004.
---. Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems. Eds. Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane. Toronto: Anansi, 1996.
---. Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems. Ed. Susan Musgrave. Scarborough: House of Anasi Press Inc., 2003.
---. “Alden Nowlan’s Canada.” Maclean’s. June 1971: 16-7, 40.
---. An Exchange of Gifts. Ed. Robert Gibbs. Toronto: Irwin, 1985.
---. Between Tears and Laughter. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1971.
---. Bread, Wine and Salt. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1967.
---. “By Celestial Omnibus to the Twilight Zone.” The Fiddlehead 136 (1983): 17-21.
---. Campobello: The Outer Island. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1975.
---. Double Exposure. Fredericton: Brunswick, 1978.
---. Gardens of the Wind. Saskatoon: Thistledown, 1982.
---. “Hatfield Country.” Maclean’s. Nov. 1971: 40-2, 76, 78, 80.
---. I Might Not Tell Everybody This. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1982.
---. I’m a Stranger Here Myself. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1974.
---. Miracle at Indian River. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1968.
---. The Mysterious Naked Man. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1969.
---. Nine Micmac Legends. Hantsport: Lancelot, 1983.
---. Playing the Jesus Game. Trumansburg: New Books, 1970.
---. Road Dancers. Ed. Robert Gibbs. Ottawa: Oberon, 1999.
---. The Rose and the Puritan. Fiddlehead Poetry Books 4. Fredericton: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1958.
---. Smoked Glass. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1977.
---. “Something to Write About.” Canadian Literature 68-6 9 (1976): 7-12.
---. The Things Which Are. Toronto: Contact, 1962.
---. Under the Ice. Toronto: Ryerson, 1961.
---. Various Persons Named Kevin O’Brien. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1973.
---. The Wanton Troopers. Fredericton: Gooselane Editions, 1988. 2009.
---. “What About the Irvings?” Canadian Newspapers: The Inside Story. Ed. Walter Stewart. Edmonton: Hurtig, 1980. 63-72.
---. What Happened When He Went to the Store for Bread. Ed. Thomas R. Smith. Afterword by Thomas R. Smith. 1993. Minneapolis: Thousands Press, 2000.
---. White Madness. Ed. Robert Gibbs. Ottawa: Oberon, 1996.
---. Will Ye Let the Mummers In?. Toronto: Irwin, 1984.
---. Wind in a Rocky Country. Toronto: Emblem, 1960.
Nowlan, Alden and Walter Learning. The Dollar Woman. New Canadian Drama 2. Ed. Patrick B. O`Neill. Ottawa: Borealis, 1981. 111-53.
---. Frankenstein: The Play. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1976.
---. The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca. Fredericton: Learning Productions, 1978.
Secondary Sources
“Alden Nowlan (1933-).” Eds. Sharon R. Gunton and Laurie Lanzen Harris. Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 15 1980: 398-9.
Alden Nowlan. Charlotte.ca, 2002.
"Alden Nowlan." My New Brunswick, mynewbrunswick.ca, 14 May 2020.
Bieman, Elizabeth. “Wrestling With Nowlan's Angel.” Canadian Poetry 2.(1978): 43-50. MLA International Bibliography.
Cogswell, Fred. "Alden Nowlan As Regional Atavist." Encounters and Explorations: Canadian Writers and European Critics. 37-55. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 1986. MLA International Bibliography.
---. “Alden Nowlan As Regional Atavist.” Studies In Canadian Literature/Etudes En Litterature Canadienne 11.2 (1986): 206-225. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "Alden Nowlan." Canadian Writers since 1960: First Series. 314-17. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 1986. MLA International Bibliography.
---. Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 32-45. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Cook, Gregory M. One Heart, One Way: The life of Alden Nowlan. Lawrencetown Beach: Pottersfield Press, 2003.
Drew, John. "Canadian Identity: A Brief Memoir Of Alden Nowlan." Identity and Alterity in Canadian Literature/Identité et altérité dans la littérature canadienne. 53-59. Cluj-Napoca, Romania: Risoprint, 2003. MLA International Bibliography.
Ferrari, Leo C. "A Few Evenings At Alden Nowlan's Place." Antigonish Review 129.(2002): 77-80. MLA International Bibliography.
Fetherling, Douglas. “Alden Nowlan.” The Canadian Encyclopedia (2012): n. pag.
Jacobs, Danny. "The Weekend God: Alden Nowlan and the Poetry Weekend Fragments." Parallel Universe: the poetries of New Brunswick. Ed. Shane Neilson and Sue Sinclair, Victoria: Frog Hollow Press, 2018. 117-128.
Keith, W. J. "The Poetry Of Alden Nowlan: A Critical Reassessment." Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews 53 (2003): 9-32. MLA International Bibliography.
Metcalf, John. "Alden Nowlan: Interviewed By John Metcalf." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 46-63. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Neilson, Shane. "On Alden Nowlan's 'The Boil.'" Arc Poetry Magazine, arcpoetry.ca, 14 June 2008.
---. "We Shall Know You by Your Reviews: The New White Male and Alden Nowlan's Collected Poems." The Miramichi Reader, miramichireader.ca, 30 Jan. 2020.
Oliver, Michael Brian. "Dread Of The Self: Escape And Reconciliation In The Poetry Of Alden Nowlan." Essays On Canadian Writing 5 (1976): 50-66. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "The Presence Of Ice: The Early Poetry Of Alden Nowlan." Studies In Canadian Literature 1 (1976): 210-22. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "Alden Nowlan (1933-83)." ECW's Biographical Guide to Canadian Poets. 220-28. Toronto: ECW, 1993. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "Alden Nowlan And His Works." Canadian Writers and Their Works. 77-132. Toronto: ECW, 1990. MLA International Bibliography.
Porco, Alessandro. “’I Cut My Finger’ By Stuart Ross.” Northern Poetry Review. NorthernPoetryReview.com, 2011.
Richards, David Adams. "I Went To Meet Alden Nowlan." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 120-32. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Smith, Thomas R. "A Fully Human Poem: In Praise Of Alden Nowlan." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 93-110. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "'My Family Was Poor': Thinking About Alden Nowlan And Class." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 111-19. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Stranger Still. Songs of Bread, Wine and Salt. See Through Music, 2019.
Toner, Patrick. If I Could Turn and Meet Myself: The Life of Alden Nowlan. Fredericton, N.B: Goose Lane, 2000.
Tremblay, Tony. "Reading Poetry by the Pound: A Review of the Collected Works of Alden Nowlan and Al Pittman." Rev. of Collected Poems of Alden Nowlan ed. by Brian Bartlett, and Collected Poems of Al Pittman ed. by Michael Crummey. Canadian Poetry 84/85 (2019): 80-84.
---. The Fiddlehead Moment. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2019. 9-229.
Ustick, Michael. "Repression: The Poetry Of Alden Nowlan." Canadian Literature 60 (1974): 43-50. MLA International Bibliography.
Wasilewski, Corinne Shriver. "Remembering Alden Nowlan: An Interview." The Fiddlehead, thefiddlehead.ca, 20 Nov 2017.
Primary Sources Courtesy of NB Literary Encyclopedia.
Nowlan, Alden. “A Bubble Dancer and the Wickedest Man in Carleton County.” The Fiddlehead 125 (1980): 75-7.
---. A Darkness in the Earth. Hearse Chapbooks 6. Eureka: Hearse, [1959].
---. Alden Nowlan and Illness. Ed. Shane Neilson. Victoria: Frog Hollow, 2004.
---. Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems. Eds. Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane. Toronto: Anansi, 1996.
---. Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems. Ed. Susan Musgrave. Scarborough: House of Anasi Press Inc., 2003.
---. “Alden Nowlan’s Canada.” Maclean’s. June 1971: 16-7, 40.
---. An Exchange of Gifts. Ed. Robert Gibbs. Toronto: Irwin, 1985.
---. Between Tears and Laughter. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1971.
---. Bread, Wine and Salt. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1967.
---. “By Celestial Omnibus to the Twilight Zone.” The Fiddlehead 136 (1983): 17-21.
---. Campobello: The Outer Island. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1975.
---. Double Exposure. Fredericton: Brunswick, 1978.
---. Gardens of the Wind. Saskatoon: Thistledown, 1982.
---. “Hatfield Country.” Maclean’s. Nov. 1971: 40-2, 76, 78, 80.
---. I Might Not Tell Everybody This. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1982.
---. I’m a Stranger Here Myself. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1974.
---. Miracle at Indian River. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1968.
---. The Mysterious Naked Man. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1969.
---. Nine Micmac Legends. Hantsport: Lancelot, 1983.
---. Playing the Jesus Game. Trumansburg: New Books, 1970.
---. Road Dancers. Ed. Robert Gibbs. Ottawa: Oberon, 1999.
---. The Rose and the Puritan. Fiddlehead Poetry Books 4. Fredericton: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1958.
---. Smoked Glass. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1977.
---. “Something to Write About.” Canadian Literature 68-6 9 (1976): 7-12.
---. The Things Which Are. Toronto: Contact, 1962.
---. Under the Ice. Toronto: Ryerson, 1961.
---. Various Persons Named Kevin O’Brien. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1973.
---. The Wanton Troopers. Fredericton: Gooselane Editions, 1988. 2009.
---. “What About the Irvings?” Canadian Newspapers: The Inside Story. Ed. Walter Stewart. Edmonton: Hurtig, 1980. 63-72.
---. What Happened When He Went to the Store for Bread. Ed. Thomas R. Smith. Afterword by Thomas R. Smith. 1993. Minneapolis: Thousands Press, 2000.
---. White Madness. Ed. Robert Gibbs. Ottawa: Oberon, 1996.
---. Will Ye Let the Mummers In?. Toronto: Irwin, 1984.
---. Wind in a Rocky Country. Toronto: Emblem, 1960.
Nowlan, Alden and Walter Learning. The Dollar Woman. New Canadian Drama 2. Ed. Patrick B. O`Neill. Ottawa: Borealis, 1981. 111-53.
---. Frankenstein: The Play. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1976.
---. The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca. Fredericton: Learning Productions, 1978.
Secondary Sources
“Alden Nowlan (1933-).” Eds. Sharon R. Gunton and Laurie Lanzen Harris. Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 15 1980: 398-9.
Alden Nowlan. Charlotte.ca, 2002.
"Alden Nowlan." My New Brunswick, mynewbrunswick.ca, 14 May 2020.
Bieman, Elizabeth. “Wrestling With Nowlan's Angel.” Canadian Poetry 2.(1978): 43-50. MLA International Bibliography.
Cogswell, Fred. "Alden Nowlan As Regional Atavist." Encounters and Explorations: Canadian Writers and European Critics. 37-55. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 1986. MLA International Bibliography.
---. “Alden Nowlan As Regional Atavist.” Studies In Canadian Literature/Etudes En Litterature Canadienne 11.2 (1986): 206-225. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "Alden Nowlan." Canadian Writers since 1960: First Series. 314-17. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 1986. MLA International Bibliography.
---. Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 32-45. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Cook, Gregory M. One Heart, One Way: The life of Alden Nowlan. Lawrencetown Beach: Pottersfield Press, 2003.
Drew, John. "Canadian Identity: A Brief Memoir Of Alden Nowlan." Identity and Alterity in Canadian Literature/Identité et altérité dans la littérature canadienne. 53-59. Cluj-Napoca, Romania: Risoprint, 2003. MLA International Bibliography.
Ferrari, Leo C. "A Few Evenings At Alden Nowlan's Place." Antigonish Review 129.(2002): 77-80. MLA International Bibliography.
Fetherling, Douglas. “Alden Nowlan.” The Canadian Encyclopedia (2012): n. pag.
Jacobs, Danny. "The Weekend God: Alden Nowlan and the Poetry Weekend Fragments." Parallel Universe: the poetries of New Brunswick. Ed. Shane Neilson and Sue Sinclair, Victoria: Frog Hollow Press, 2018. 117-128.
Keith, W. J. "The Poetry Of Alden Nowlan: A Critical Reassessment." Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews 53 (2003): 9-32. MLA International Bibliography.
Metcalf, John. "Alden Nowlan: Interviewed By John Metcalf." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 46-63. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Neilson, Shane. "On Alden Nowlan's 'The Boil.'" Arc Poetry Magazine, arcpoetry.ca, 14 June 2008.
---. "We Shall Know You by Your Reviews: The New White Male and Alden Nowlan's Collected Poems." The Miramichi Reader, miramichireader.ca, 30 Jan. 2020.
Oliver, Michael Brian. "Dread Of The Self: Escape And Reconciliation In The Poetry Of Alden Nowlan." Essays On Canadian Writing 5 (1976): 50-66. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "The Presence Of Ice: The Early Poetry Of Alden Nowlan." Studies In Canadian Literature 1 (1976): 210-22. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "Alden Nowlan (1933-83)." ECW's Biographical Guide to Canadian Poets. 220-28. Toronto: ECW, 1993. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "Alden Nowlan And His Works." Canadian Writers and Their Works. 77-132. Toronto: ECW, 1990. MLA International Bibliography.
Porco, Alessandro. “’I Cut My Finger’ By Stuart Ross.” Northern Poetry Review. NorthernPoetryReview.com, 2011.
Richards, David Adams. "I Went To Meet Alden Nowlan." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 120-32. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Smith, Thomas R. "A Fully Human Poem: In Praise Of Alden Nowlan." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 93-110. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "'My Family Was Poor': Thinking About Alden Nowlan And Class." Alden Nowlan: Essays on His Works. 111-19. Toronto: Guernica, 2006. MLA International Bibliography.
Stranger Still. Songs of Bread, Wine and Salt. See Through Music, 2019.
Toner, Patrick. If I Could Turn and Meet Myself: The Life of Alden Nowlan. Fredericton, N.B: Goose Lane, 2000.
Tremblay, Tony. "Reading Poetry by the Pound: A Review of the Collected Works of Alden Nowlan and Al Pittman." Rev. of Collected Poems of Alden Nowlan ed. by Brian Bartlett, and Collected Poems of Al Pittman ed. by Michael Crummey. Canadian Poetry 84/85 (2019): 80-84.
---. The Fiddlehead Moment. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2019. 9-229.
Ustick, Michael. "Repression: The Poetry Of Alden Nowlan." Canadian Literature 60 (1974): 43-50. MLA International Bibliography.
Wasilewski, Corinne Shriver. "Remembering Alden Nowlan: An Interview." The Fiddlehead, thefiddlehead.ca, 20 Nov 2017.
Primary Sources Courtesy of NB Literary Encyclopedia.
