Roy K. Kiyooka

When Roy Kiyooka died, suddenly and unexpectedly, in January 1994, he left behind an artistic legacy rich in social, cultural, literary, and artistic significance. From the late 1950s until his death, Kiyooka lived his time intensely, as is evident in his innovative work and in the diversity of his concerns: as visual artist, as sculptor, as film-maker, as photographer, and of course, as a writer and poet. As a Nisei (second-generation, Canadian born Japanese Canadian) Kiyooka remains a singular and perhaps the most important figure thus far in the history of Japanese Canadian art, writing and culture. Pacific Windows: Collected Poems of Roy K. Kiyooka (1997) is a collection of his poetic works.

His novella, The Artist and the Moose: A Fable of Forget, surrounding the mysterious death of Tom Thomson, was posthumously published by LINEbooks in 2009.