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Spencer Gordon

Goodreads Author

Born

in Thompson, Manitoba, Canada

Website

https://www.spencer-gordon.com

Twitter

spencergordon

Genre

Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction

Member Since

March 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomspencergordon

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Spencer Gordon is the author of three books: a collection of dramatic monologues, A Horse at the Window (House of Anansi Press, coming June 2024), the poetry collection Cruise Missile Liberals (Nightwood Editions, 2017), and the short story collection Cosmo (Coach House Books, 2012).

To the Winnipeg Free Press, Cruise Missile Liberals showcases a “disturbing, wry intelligence … [and] taut, careful craft.” The Toronto Star writes that it “offers plenty of laughs, but it’s also got heart.” The Globe and Mail claims that it’s “completely submerged in the zany, disturbing thick of it ... [and] might be the oddball balm you need.” In a starred review, Quill and Quire comments: “Cruise Missile Liberals is a complex and accomplished first collectio Spencer Gordon is the author of three books: a collection of dramatic monologues, A Horse at the Window (House of Anansi Press, coming June 2024), the poetry collection Cruise Missile Liberals (Nightwood Editions, 2017), and the short story collection Cosmo (Coach House Books, 2012).

To the Winnipeg Free Press, Cruise Missile Liberals showcases a “disturbing, wry intelligence … [and] taut, careful craft.” The Toronto Star writes that it “offers plenty of laughs, but it’s also got heart.” The Globe and Mail claims that it’s “completely submerged in the zany, disturbing thick of it ... [and] might be the oddball balm you need.” In a starred review, Quill and Quire comments: “Cruise Missile Liberals is a complex and accomplished first collection from a writer who has honed his voice by listening. Gordon’s examination of the self in late capitalism is not always optimistic but is, in its humanity, enormously affirming.” And to Broken Pencil, it is “nothing short of unapologetic for an author’s poetry debut in Canadian literature.”

The acclaimed short story collection Cosmo (Coach House Books, 2012) was called “startling and invigorating” (and “Canada’s Most Underrated Book”) by Quill and Quire, “rare [and] brave” by the National Post, “poignant and hilarious” by This Magazine, “both heartwarming and heartbreaking” by The Winnipeg Review, and “both ridiculous and absolutely perfect” by The Walrus.

Spencer also wrote the poetry chapbooks Anno Zombie Dance (Emergency Response Unit, 2016), Conservative Majority (Apt. 9, 2013) and Feel Good! Look Great! Have a Blast! (Ferno House, 2011, shortlisted for the 2012 bpNichol Chapbook Award). He is one of CBC Books’ Writers to Watch and the winner of a CBC Book Award for Cosmo.

He is co-founder and was senior editor of the 18-year-old magazine The Puritan (now Ex-Puritan), one of the country’s premier literary journals (nominated for a National Magazine Award and a regular submitter to Best Canadian Poetry and The Journey Prize). He often serves as a reader and judge for university publications (such as the University of Toronto Magazine), literary magazines (like The Antigonish Review), national prizes (like the CBC Short Story Prize), and arts councils (namely, the Canada Council for the Arts). His writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Toronto Star, EVENT, THIS Magazine, Poetry Is Dead, The Winnipeg Review, CNQ, Broken Pencil, Joyland, and many other periodicals and anthologies, including Best Canadian Sports Writing (ECW, 2017).

He holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto and a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Ottawa, and he has taught writing, both professional and creative, at OCAD University, George Brown College, Humber College, and with the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. He now works as a Principal Associate for Blueprint in Toronto (the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and other peoples). ...more

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Average rating: 4.25 · 148 ratings · 26 reviews · 13 distinct works • Similar authors

	Cosmo really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 83 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cruise Missile Liberals 4.70 avg rating — 23 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Horse at the Window 4.47 avg rating — 19 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Poetry is Dead: Humour Issue 9, Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2014 by Dina Del Bucchia (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Laura Matwichuck, Sheryda Warrener 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cosmo it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tennessee Electric Power Co v. Ickes U.S. Supreme Court Transcript of Record with Supporting Pleadings it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chenery Corp v. Securities & Exchange Commission U.S. Supreme Court Transcript of Record with Supporting Pleadings it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corporation U.S. Supreme Court Transcript of Record with Supporting Pleadings it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Our Gorder Family: a Genealogical and Biographical Record it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Our Gordon Family: A Genealogical and Biographical Record 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Spencer made a comment on Jeff Bursey’s review of A Horse at the Window " The gods are telling you to round up! ;) xo "
Feb 13, 2025 05:45AM · see review
Spencer has read Cosmo by Spencer Gordon (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This was not bad, not bad!
Dec 22, 2024 11:08AM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Cosmo by Spencer Gordon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Cosmo by Spencer Gordon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Spencer and 2 other people liked Nanci's review of A Horse at the Window: "What a ride! A brilliant piece of thought-provoking writing. Spencer’s book is filled with insight and surprising thoughts; some beautiful and tender, others darkly disturbing. I enjoyed the imagery his words created for me. Can’t wait to read more b" Read more of this review »
Jul 08, 2024 06:31AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Horse at the Window by Spencer Gordon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Horse at the Window by Spencer Gordon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Spencer liked Crimson Striker's review of A Horse at the Window: "I'm sorry."
Jun 10, 2024 09:02AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Horse at the Window by Spencer Gordon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Horse at the Window by Spencer Gordon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Spencer and 3 other people liked Kenneth Gordon's review of A Horse at the Window: "Even if you aren't familiar with Buddhist teachings you will still marvel at the beautiful prose in this book. I was astonished at the phrasing and word wizardry from start to finish. Like a Rothko painting, the book is both profound and mysterious.." Read more of this review »
Jun 10, 2024 09:01AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Horse at the Window by Spencer Gordon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Horse at the Window by Spencer Gordon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Spencer is now following Steve Kurtz Author of The Complete Book of Necromancers (Advanced Dun...
Nov 09, 2023 12:37PM · like
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Oct 30, 2023 03:20PM · like

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Quotes by Spencer Gordon (?)

“There is no ME without books; they’re everything I remember from childhood, from maturity … All that’s happened to me has been coloured, permanently, by my reading.”
― Spencer Gordon, Cosmo

tags: books, quotes-about-reading, reading, reading-books

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“...one song, one note that heals the guilty chaos of our days, making sense of our loneliness, our perjured feelings, our sickness and our poverty, how we shall never be beautiful, how our heads will run over with unbearable secrets and how we are sentenced to this, serving us right -- when the song should end, be cut down, finished, and the singer not go on singing.”
― Spencer Gordon, Cosmo

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“All the things she couldn’t say, the things no one wanted to hear.”
― Spencer Gordon, Cosmo

Spencer Gordon’s Followers (34)

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