Bio
Michael G. Khmelnitsky, B.A. Hons., M.A.
I am a poet and an independent videographer. I work as an information developer for SAP/BusinessObjects. Currently, I am pursuing my Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree at the University of Calgary.
My hometown is Vancouver, but I was born in Moscow (U.S.S.R.), lived in Israel (Ashdod), immigrated to Canada, taught English in Japan (Nagoya and Matsumoto), and studied for my M.A. in Waterloo (Canada). I have also been to Ukraine, Abkhazia, Estonia, Hungary, Holland, the U.S.A., England, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Philippines, Singapore, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovakia.
I speak English and Russian fluently, and communicate in Japanese on an intermediate level.
??/09/1996 I write "I am", my first poem in English, in Ms. Barthel's ninth-grade English class.
21/10/2003 I write "Cliché Manifesto v.1.0".
04/11/2003 I receive a reply to my letter to Michael Turner.
04/03/2004 I meet Turner at a talk at Langara College.
29/03/2005 Joey from Yorkshire contacts me about performing "people waiting at the bus/stop". He incorporates the poem into his theatrical piece and performs it on stage in May 2005.
27/08/2005 I attend Sex with Michael Turner at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Turner reads excerpts from romance novels and shares chocolates.
30/08/2005 I self-publish Granville, inspired by Turner's Kingsway.
12/10/2005 I write the first poem in a cycle inspired by Christian Bök's Eunoia.
09/11/2005 I read for the first time at an open mic event at Behind the Scenes, a small café on Broadway Street in Vancouver. Turner comes out to support me.
25/11/2005 My selection of poems for a less-successful second reading at the same open mic event teaches me the importance of audience appeal.
28/02/2006 I listen to Douglas Coupland and Chuck Palahniuk read at UBC. Coupland bores he audience with excerpts from JPod. Palahniuk throws stink bombs and plastic excrement into the audience while reading "Mister Elegant", a story about an epileptic male stripper.
10/03/2006 Two of my poems, "buffer overflow" and "Chinaski meets Cappelbaum" (the latter inspired by the doppelgängers of Stanley Cooperman and Charles Bukowski) are published in Uprooted magazine.
03/05/2006 I lose Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere to Ron Silliman (95:2) and write an angry, bitter poem about it.
10/06/2006 I audio-record and self-publish Go Fish, inspired by Jackson Mac Low, William S. Burroughs, Nicanor Parra, and Hugo Ball.
18/12/2006 I write «за соседним столиком», my first poem in Russian.
16/06/2009 I write 「多分詩」, my first poem in Japanese.
21/11/2009 I hold Silo 28, my third, hour-long poetry reading, in Vancouver. I read twenty-eight poems, featuring the eponymous long poem. Turner comes out to support me, despite a bout with the flu.
18/09/2010 I meet George Eliot Clarke at a reading at UWaterloo. He assures me that there is nothing wrong with confessional poetry.
26/10/2010 I meet Bök at a reading at St. Jerome's University. His passion and energy convince me to continue work on my poem cycle.
06/11/2010 I hold Cathedral, my fourth poetry reading, in Waterloo. I read twenty-nine poems, featuring the eponymous sequel to "Silo 28."
24/11/2010 I hold a telephone interview about Poetry in Voice with Scott Griffin, founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize.
07/09/2011 I move to Calgary (Bök's base of operations) to begin my Ph.D. program.
15/09/2011 I meet Jeramy Dodds at the Hello/Goodbye event at the Arrata Opera House, and fall in love with "Canada."
23/09/2011 Bök breaks my heart during and following his presentation on The Xenotext.
27/09/2011 Dodds agrees to help me edit my poem cycle.
14/10/2011 I listen to Dodds read at a WordFest event at The Banff Centre.
03/11/2011 I co-create the Wasteland-o-Matic with Martin Schauss and Gregory Khmelnitsky. It serves as a basis for Martin's Evil Flowers.
05/11/2011 I hold Cathedral II, my fifth poetry reading, in Calgary. I read thirty poems, featuring a slightly-revised version of the eponymous long poem. Dodds comes out to support me.
23/11/2011 I read "the defenestration of poesy" for Jess Nicol's Possible Side Effects May Include...: 12 Steps to Better Graduate-Level Fiction.
09/03/2012 I read for the sixth time at the 2012 Free Exchange Conference Creative Night: "there are languages...", "Sitting in Class with a Professor Who Had Us Read Martin Heidegger", "the poet rears his ugly head", and "four minutes thirty-three seconds of noise".
24/04/2012 "roughing it in the bush, 2848" is displayed at the Taylor Family Digital Library during Poetry Month.
14/07/2012 Dodds breaks my heart.
06/09/2012 Bök breaks my balls for the last time.
05/11/2012 I hold слог и слово, my seventh poetry reading, in Calgary. Rod Moody-Corbett writes the introduction to the program. I read thirty-one poems. 詩
21/10/2003 I write "Cliché Manifesto v.1.0".
04/11/2003 I receive a reply to my letter to Michael Turner.
04/03/2004 I meet Turner at a talk at Langara College.
29/03/2005 Joey from Yorkshire contacts me about performing "people waiting at the bus/stop". He incorporates the poem into his theatrical piece and performs it on stage in May 2005.
27/08/2005 I attend Sex with Michael Turner at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Turner reads excerpts from romance novels and shares chocolates.
30/08/2005 I self-publish Granville, inspired by Turner's Kingsway.
12/10/2005 I write the first poem in a cycle inspired by Christian Bök's Eunoia.
09/11/2005 I read for the first time at an open mic event at Behind the Scenes, a small café on Broadway Street in Vancouver. Turner comes out to support me.
25/11/2005 My selection of poems for a less-successful second reading at the same open mic event teaches me the importance of audience appeal.
28/02/2006 I listen to Douglas Coupland and Chuck Palahniuk read at UBC. Coupland bores he audience with excerpts from JPod. Palahniuk throws stink bombs and plastic excrement into the audience while reading "Mister Elegant", a story about an epileptic male stripper.
10/03/2006 Two of my poems, "buffer overflow" and "Chinaski meets Cappelbaum" (the latter inspired by the doppelgängers of Stanley Cooperman and Charles Bukowski) are published in Uprooted magazine.
03/05/2006 I lose Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere to Ron Silliman (95:2) and write an angry, bitter poem about it.
10/06/2006 I audio-record and self-publish Go Fish, inspired by Jackson Mac Low, William S. Burroughs, Nicanor Parra, and Hugo Ball.
18/12/2006 I write «за соседним столиком», my first poem in Russian.
16/06/2009 I write 「多分詩」, my first poem in Japanese.
21/11/2009 I hold Silo 28, my third, hour-long poetry reading, in Vancouver. I read twenty-eight poems, featuring the eponymous long poem. Turner comes out to support me, despite a bout with the flu.
18/09/2010 I meet George Eliot Clarke at a reading at UWaterloo. He assures me that there is nothing wrong with confessional poetry.
26/10/2010 I meet Bök at a reading at St. Jerome's University. His passion and energy convince me to continue work on my poem cycle.
06/11/2010 I hold Cathedral, my fourth poetry reading, in Waterloo. I read twenty-nine poems, featuring the eponymous sequel to "Silo 28."
24/11/2010 I hold a telephone interview about Poetry in Voice with Scott Griffin, founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize.
07/09/2011 I move to Calgary (Bök's base of operations) to begin my Ph.D. program.
15/09/2011 I meet Jeramy Dodds at the Hello/Goodbye event at the Arrata Opera House, and fall in love with "Canada."
23/09/2011 Bök breaks my heart during and following his presentation on The Xenotext.
27/09/2011 Dodds agrees to help me edit my poem cycle.
14/10/2011 I listen to Dodds read at a WordFest event at The Banff Centre.
03/11/2011 I co-create the Wasteland-o-Matic with Martin Schauss and Gregory Khmelnitsky. It serves as a basis for Martin's Evil Flowers.
05/11/2011 I hold Cathedral II, my fifth poetry reading, in Calgary. I read thirty poems, featuring a slightly-revised version of the eponymous long poem. Dodds comes out to support me.
23/11/2011 I read "the defenestration of poesy" for Jess Nicol's Possible Side Effects May Include...: 12 Steps to Better Graduate-Level Fiction.
09/03/2012 I read for the sixth time at the 2012 Free Exchange Conference Creative Night: "there are languages...", "Sitting in Class with a Professor Who Had Us Read Martin Heidegger", "the poet rears his ugly head", and "four minutes thirty-three seconds of noise".
24/04/2012 "roughing it in the bush, 2848" is displayed at the Taylor Family Digital Library during Poetry Month.
14/07/2012 Dodds breaks my heart.
06/09/2012 Bök breaks my balls for the last time.
05/11/2012 I hold слог и слово, my seventh poetry reading, in Calgary. Rod Moody-Corbett writes the introduction to the program. I read thirty-one poems. 詩
Михаил Григорьевич Хмельницкий [Mikhail Grigor'evich Khmel'nitzkiy]
Миша [Misha]
מיכאל חמלניצקי [Mikael' Hmel'nitzki]
Michael Gregorievich Khmelnitsky
Mike
クメルニツキー マイクル [Kumerunitsukii Maikuru]
マイク [Maiku]
First Name
Michael is the guardian archangel of the Jews in the Hebrew Scriptures. In Hebrew, the name is a question: "Who is like God?" מי [mi (who)] + כמו [cmo, ca (is like, like)] + אל [el(ohim; God)] = מיכאל [Mikael] was Russified to Михаил [Mikhail]. (N.B. The stress falls on the third syllable, not the second).
Middle Name
In the Russian tradition, the middle name of a person, called the patronymic, is his or her father's name, modified with the "-ich" ending for males and with the "-na" ending for females. My father's name is Григорий [Grigoriy], therefore my patronymic is Григорьевич [Grigor'evich]. (I spell it with an "e" in the first syllable, because English speakers would mispronounce it as Grygorievich otherwise.)
Last Name
My father's theory is that the last name is derived from the eponymous city in west-central Ukraine, since, rather than being recorded according to their actual last names, Jews (and serfs) were often enumerated in census papers according to their place of birth, work or residence. Ironically, the city is named after Bogdan Khmelnitsky, a Cossack hetman from Ukraine who, among other things, was responsible for the murder of one hundred thousand to one million Jews in the seventeenth century.
November 3, 1981; Noon
Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russia)
Older Sister
Circa 1979, my mother had a stillborn baby girl who would have been my older sister.
Younger Brother
My younger brother, Евгений Григорьевич Хмельницкий [Evgeny Grigor'evich Khmel'nitzkiy] (affectionately called Женя [Zhenya (Genia)]), born on August 20, 1984, allegedly committed suicide on October 7, 2000, at the age of sixteen.
Male
Caucasian
Brown
Brown
184 cm
Atheist
Baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church
- Russian (native tongue)
- Hebrew (used to be fluent; now communicate on a limited basis)
- French (used to have conversational skills; now communicate on a limited basis)
- English (fully proficient)
- Mandarin Chinese (can read about one hundred and fifty hanzi characters, and communicate on a very limited basis)
- Japanese (can read and write hiragana and katakana; can read and write about three hundred kanji characters, write a diary, and communicate with some difficulty)
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
1981-1991 (10 years)
Israel
1991-Present (22 years)
Canada
1999-Present (14 years)
U.S.S.R. (Russia)
Москва [Moskva] (1981-1991)
Israel
אשדוד [Ashdod] (1991-1996)
Canada
Vancouver (1996-2006, 2008-2010)
Waterloo (2010-2011)
Calgary (2011-Present)
Japan
名古屋市 [Nagoya] (2006)
岐阜市 [Gifu] (2006)
松本市 [Matsumoto] (2006-2008)
1987
Ukraine, U.S.S.R. (visit of Izyum, my mother's birthplace)
Abkhazia, USSR (visit of Dagomys)
1988
Ukraine, U.S.S.R. (stay in Sevastopol)
1989
Ukraine, U.S.S.R. (stay in Sevastopol)
1990
Estonia, U.S.S.R. (stay in Pärnu; visit of Tallinn)
1991
Hungary (transit)
1996
Netherlands (transit, stay)
U.S.A. (an eight-hour, police-supervised flight transfer stop at the Minneapolis airport)
1998
U.S.A. (visit)
2002
European Road Trip Mk. 1 (Reality Check Tour)
England (transit)
Netherlands (visit, stay)
Belgium (transit)
Luxembourg (visit, stay)
Germany (visit, stay)
Denmark (visit, stay)
Sweden (visit, stay)
Russia (stay in Moscow and St. Petersburg)
Sweden (transit)
Denmark (transit)
Germany (transit)
Netherlands (transit, overnight stay at the airport)
England (visit)
2003
U.S.A. (two visits)
2004
U.S.A. (two visits)
2005
Mr. Vernon (visit of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival) Canadian Road Trip Mk.1 (Shuswap Lake Camping)
Hope (transit)
Merritt (transit)
Kamloops (transit)
Chase (transit)
Scotch Creek (transit)
Celista (transit)
Magna Bay (transit)
Anglemont (transit)
St. Ives (transit)
Shuswap Lake Park (stay)
Sorento (transit)
Salmon Arm (transit)
Vernon (transit)
Kelowna (transit)
Penticton (transit)
Osoyoos (transit, visit)
Keremos (transit)
Princeton (transit)
Manning Park (transit)
Hope (transit) American Road Trip Mk. 1
Washington
Oregon
California
Nevada
Arizona
Nevada
Utah
Idaho
Oregon
Washington
2006
Training in Nagoya
Tokyo (transit)
Tokai (visit)
Okazaki (visit)
Kasugai (visit)
Komono (visit)
Seto (visit)
Work in Gifu
Inazawa (visit)
Iwakura (visit)
Owari-Ichinomiya (visit)
Komaki (visit)
Ogaki (visit)
Kakamigahara (visit)
Hida Takayama (stay)
Pilgrimage to Mt. Fuji
Fujinomiya (transit)
Mt. Fuji (visit, climb)
The Great Japanese Job Hunt
Tokyo (transit)
Sendai (transit)
Furukawa (now Osaki; visit, stay)
Tokyo (transit)
Kyoto (visit, stay)
Matsumoto (visit)
Shiojiri (transit)
The Non-Rendezvous with Mite
Shiojiri (transit)
Tokyo (visit of Shinjuku and Roppongi)
Shiojiri (transit)
Passport Renewal Trip
Nagoya (visit)
2007
LADO Training Trip
Tokyo (visit of Shinjuku, Ginza and Shibuya, stay)
Mike and Paul's Excellent Adventure
Nagoya (transit)
Kyoto (visit)
Nagoya (visit)
Visa Renewal Trip Mk. 1
Nagano (visit)
Visa Renewal Trip Mk. 2 and Pilgrimage to Zenkoji Temple
Nagano (visit)
Mike vs. Mt. Fuji, Take 2 (Failed)
Fujinomiya (transit)
Mt. Fuji (visit, climb up to station six)
Shiojiri (visit)
An Excursion to Tokyo
Tokyo (visit of the Imperial Palace, Ueno Park, Ueno Zoo, stay in Akihabara, visit of Ginza, Roppongi Hills, Shibuya and Shinjuku)
Shiojiri (transit)
The Dream Thief
Azumino (visit)
The Great Escape
Tokyo (transit)
Narita (transit)
2009
East Coast Trip
Toronto (transit)
Washington, D.C. (visit, stay)
Boston (visit, stay)
New York (visit, stay)
Canadian Road Trip Mk.3 (Rocky Mountains)
Kamloops (transit)
Banff (visit, stay)
Columbia Ice Field (visit)
Jasper (visit, stay)
Lake Louise (visit)
Banff (visit, stay)
Calgary (visit)
2010
Singapore Trip
Manila (transit)
Singapore (visit, stay)
Manila (transit)
The Master of Alabaster Mk.1
Kitchener (transit)
Calgary (transit)
Kitchener (transit)
Toronto (two visits)
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 1
Kitchener (transit)
Calgary (transit)
Vancouver (visit, stay)
Honolulu (visit; and places around, Oahu), Hawaii (U.S.) (visit)
Vancouver (visit)
2011
American Road Trip Mk. 2
Day 1
Everett, WA (transit)
Seattle, WA (transit)
Ellensburg, WA (transit)
Sprague, WA (transit)
Ferndale, WA (transit)
Spokane, WA (transit)
Bozeman, MT (transit)
Whitehall, MT (transit)
Missoula, MT (transit)
Miles City, MT (transit)
Butte, MT (transit, stay)
Day 2
Edgerton, WI (transit)
Baldwin, WI (transit)
Bismarck, ND (transit)
Dickinson, ND (transit)
Fargo, ND (transit, stay)
Day 3
Alexandria, MN (transit)
Minneapolis, MN (transit)
Chicago, IL (transit)
Kalamazoo, MI (transit)
Olivet, MI (transit)
Paw Paw, MI (transit, stay)
Day 3
Sarnia, ON (transit)
London, ON (transit)
Cambridge, ON (transit)
Kitchener, ON (transit)
The Master of Alabaster Mk. 2
Cambridge (visit)
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 2 & American Road Trip Mk. 3
Kitchener (transit)
Calgary (transit)
Vancouver (stay)
Seattle (stay)
Vancouver (stay)
Calgary (transit)
Kitchener (transit)
The Master of Alabaster Mk.3
Cambridge (visit)
Mississauga (visit)
Toronto (visit)
Wilmot (transit)
Perth East (transit)
Stratford (visit of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival)
Cambridge (visit of the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory)
Hamilton (visit of the African Lion Safari)
American Road Trip Mk. 4
Coming soon!
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 3 & Canadian Road Trip Mk. 4
Vancouver (visit)
Coming soon!
The Travels of Dr. Nijbraer Mk. 1
Banff (visit)
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 4
Vancouver (visit)
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 5 & Bahamas Trip
Vancouver (transit)
The Bahamas (stay on New Providence Island, visit of Paradise Island, and Blue Lagoon Island)
Vancouver (visit)
2012
Vancouver (visit)
Untitled Błażej Trip
Munich (transit)
Frankfurt (transit)
Poland (stay in Poznań)
Frankfurt (transit)
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 6 & Canadian Road Trip Mk. 5
Golden (transit)
Salmon Arm (transit)
Merritt (transit)
Hope (transit)
Vancouver (visit)
Hope (transit)
Merritt (transit)
Salmon Arm (transit)
Golden (transit)
Banff (transit)
European Road Trip Mk. 2
Houston (transit)
Frankfurt (transit)
Poznań (transit)
Berlin (visit, stay)
Potsdam (visit of Babelsberg Studio)
Dresden (visit, stay)
Prague (visit, stay)
Vienna (visit, stay)
Bratislava (visit, stay)
Budapest (visit, stay)
Czech Republic (transit)
Krakow (stay)
Oświęcim (visit of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum)
Krakow (transit)
Warsaw (visit, stay)
Poznań (transit)
Frankfurt (transit)
Toronto (transit)
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 7 & Canadian Road Trip Mk. 6
Golden (transit)
Salmon Arm (transit)
Merritt (transit)
Vancouver (visit, stay)
Merritt (transit)
Salmon Arm (transit)
Golden (transit)
The End of the World
Vancouver (transit)
Seoul (transit)
Fukuoka (stay)
Naha (Okinawa) (visit, stay)
Narita (transit)
Vancouver (transit)
Back in the Y.V.R. Mk. 8 & American Road Trip Mk. 5
Golden (transit)
Salmon Arm (transit)
Merritt (transit)
Vancouver (visit, stay)
Bellingham (visit)
Mt. Vernon (visit of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival)
Merritt (transit)
Salmon Arm (transit)
Golden (transit)
Banff (transit)
