Another Order gathers the dynamic and previously inaccessible works of Judith Copithorne, the boundary-pushing writer, artist, community worker, and outspoken feminist who has been a key figure in Vancouver’s literary scene since the 1960s. Including poetry, fiction, visual art, comics, and life writing, Another Order captures Copithorne’s “embodied approach to text” and her tireless experiments with media – from typewriters and pens to computer software – in texts that engage issues of gender, sexuality, desire, subjectivity, spirituality, and revolution. Edited and introduced by Eric Schmaltz, this volume affirms Judith Copithorne’s position among the leading avant-garde poets and artists of her time.
Judith Copithorne (August 5, 1939 – May 15, 2025) was a pioneering Canadian poet and visual artist renowned for her contributions to concrete and visual poetry. Born in Vancouver into an artistic family, she pursued studies at the University of British Columbia, where she earned a B.A. and a teaching certificate. In the 1960s and 1970s, Copithorne emerged as a central figure among Vancouver's "Downtown Poets," engaging with alternative art spaces such as Sound Gallery, Motion Studio, and Intermedia. Her innovative "poem-drawings" blended abstract line work with text, exploring themes of domesticity, community, and spirituality.
Throughout her prolific career, Copithorne published over 40 books, chapbooks, and ephemeral works. Notable publications include Returning (1965), Rain (1969), Runes (1971), A Light Character (1985), and Phases / Phrases (2019). Her work has been featured in numerous anthologies, such as New Directions in Canadian Poetry (1971), The Cosmic Chef (1970), Four Parts Sand (1972), The Last Blewointment Anthology Volume 1 (1985), The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry, 1998–2008 (2012), and Judith: Women Making Visual Poetry (2021).
Copithorne's work was exhibited in galleries nationally and internationally, influencing generations of poets and artists. Her practice evolved over time, incorporating digital techniques and vibrant color palettes, reflecting her continual exploration of form and medium. In 2023, a comprehensive collection titled Another Order: Selected Works, edited by Eric Schmaltz, was published, offering insight into her extensive body of work.
Judith Copithorne passed away on May 15, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and artistic commitment that continues to inspire.
Eric Schmaltz is Writer-on-the-Grounds in the Department of English at York University’s Glendon College, where he teaches and coordinates the certificate in Creative Writing across Contexts. He holds a Ph.D. in English from York University and was a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in the English Department at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Borderblur Poetics: Multimodality and Avant-Gardism in Canada, 1963–1988 (University of Calgary Press) and co-editor (with Christopher Doody) of I Want to Tell You Love by bill bissett and Milton Acorn (University of Calgary Press). He is also the author of the poetry book Surfaces (Invisible Publishing) and numerous shorter works. His critical and creative work has been published in periodicals and anthologies, including Jacket2, Bomb, Canadian Literature, the Berkeley Poetry Review, the Capilano Review, and BAX 2020: Best American Experimental Writing (Wesleyan University Press). He lives in Tkaronto (Toronto).
