Born on 13 June 1938 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, John Newlove was a poet and editor who helped to define Canadian national literature during a key period of its formation. Never formally finishing college, Newlove spent many years travelling around Canada doing various jobs. He taught high school English in 1957 in Manitoba, and was a social worker in Saskatchewan in 1958, but spent most of his career as a copywriter, editor, and announcer on various radio stations. In 1960 he settled in Vancouver, British Columbia for the remainder of the decade, engrossed in self-guided study and publication in chapbooks and literary and poetry magazines.