Ken Babstock (Canada, 1970) is considered one of the most influential voices in Canadian poetry. He wrote poetry at a young age, setting himself against the church of his (pastor) parents, which in his opinion was fraudulent. He prematurely broke off his study philosophy, and for years he performed hard physical labour, which yielded a great deal of inspiration for his poetry. Since his last visit to Rotterdam in 2002 Babstock has been awarded the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize, among other honours.