bill bissett (born William Frederick Bissett, November 23, 1939) is a Canadian poet famous for his anti-conventional style.
bissett attended Dalhousie University and the University of British Columbia but dropped out of both universities because of an overriding desire to live as a free agent, writer and painter unencumbered by any academic constraints. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1958. Five years later he started the blew ointment magazine and later launched blewointment press. bissett is based in Vancouver and Toronto alternating between the two cities.
bill bissett's poems are highly visual, highly conceptual, but like bpNichol, he's also extremely sensitive to the musical possibilities inherent in language. In face his poems, as seen on the printed page, are really little more than scores, intended to be read aloud or sung. A bissett reading is a compelling experience. In addition to the text of 70 of his poems, this recordbook contains a seventeen minute long play recording of bissett by bissett, making it possible to see and hear the poems as they were meant to be seen and heart. (from the back cover)