Daniel M. Kolos: a Poetic Bio

The Short version for PR purposes:

Daniel Kolos came out of the poetic closet in 1997 and began a series of
public poetry readings that has not yet stopped. He has been writing and

workshopping short stories and poetry with the Highway Four Writers since

1990.

In 2003 Pendas Productions of London published his first poetry collection,

Slipped Out, which has garnered good critical reviews.

http://www.bmts.com/~damilos/reviews.htm

In 2005 he rediscovered Rumi who provided him inspiration for a series of

Sufi poems which Daniel published in a Chapbook, Inspired By The Master.

In 2007, The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box of Shelburne, Ontario, published

his second poetry collection, From One child To Another, edited by Allan

Briesmaster. Daniel was also accepted that year as a member of The League

of Canadian Poets.

Before his poetry career, Daniel wrote ritual drama, which was performed

in Toronto. One of these, A Modern Mystery School, was produced for CBC Radio

Celebrations in 1983. By that time Daniel had written several series of

radio documentaries on ancient Egypt and the Biblical world for CBC Ideas,

and had deciphered the sacred ritual inscriptions of the Tutankhamun Exhibit

treasures with Hany Assaad and rendered these into English. The
resulting best-seller book, The Name of the Dead, is still available on
www.amazon.ca or directly from Daniel, damilos@bmts.com

He has been published in numerous Anthologies, poetry Magazines,

Newsletters and on line. See: http://www.bmts.com/~damilos/PoetryPublications.htm

Daniel's poetry page is available at www.bmts.com/~damilos/poetry.html. 

Daniel lives on a farm in Grey County with his family where he raised sheep
and goats between 1989 and 2003. He has since then cut back raising grass-fed,

organic (uncertified) lambs which he sells to those who like to eat clean meat.

More...

Born in Hungary, educated in rural Pennsylvania, Daniel started writing poetry in High School (1958-62).  He studied poetry at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1964) as part of an English literature course; Daniel also studied Biblical poetry first in English, then in Biblical Hebrew. He found inspiration in travels abroad and through a stint with the US Army (1966-68)

Daniel went on to study ancient Egyptian language and literature (MA, University of Toronto, 1975) including thought couplets as the basic form of Egyptian poetry.  He turned to writing prose and drama upon arrival in Toronto and neglected poetry for 20 years, but found vicarious pleasure in hearing the poetry of Robert Zend and George Faludy (one-to-one performances ) both in Hungarian and in English.  The mentoring of these poets eventually convinced Daniel to begin writing poetry seriously. He worked as a freelance broadcaster for CBC Radio and became a member of the ACTRA Writers Guild.  Nominated for Best Writer Radio Drama in 1983.

More recently, Daniel has been mentored by poets Penn Kemp and Colline Caulder. Daniel has been a featured reader at various Toronto and Grey/Bruce county poetry reading Series, including Sharon Singer's Words in Concert (1997), the Idler Pub (2002), the Art Bar (August, 2003), and with the Poetry Tribe of Plymouth, Michigan (November, 2003) to name just a few.  He has collaborated with Penn Kemp on several poetry projects and has translated her “Poem for Peace in Two Voices” into Hungarian and ancient Egyptian. Daniel has performed these and other translations with Penn across Ontario and at Detroit’s Scarab Club.

Co-founder of Benben Publications (1979), Canada’s own Egyptological publishing house (Mississauga), Daniel opened his own bookshop, Benben Books, on Soho Street in Toronto (1983-88). In 1988 Daniel moved to Priceville and slowly worked poetry back into his writing regimen.  He joined Highway Four Writers Group in 1990:  weekly readings of short fiction and poetry, with critiques from fellow writers, that continue to this day.

Daniel helped to form Words Aloud, a poetry cooperative in the Grey-Bruce region in 1997 and continues reading poetry at public venues 8 to 10 times each year.  In 2000, Daniel organized the Words in Bloom poetry festival at Stonyground, the home of U of T Poetry Professor, Douglas Chambers.  He has been published in local Art magazines since 1990. In 2006 he joined the Toronto Renaissance Conspiracy, a monthly poetry workshop of excellent traditional poets. In 2008 he helped found SOUNDS – words and music series, a monthly event in Owen Sound.

To contact Daniel Kolos, please e-mail to benbencan@yahoo.com