A Poet Begins

The following information was obtained through a series of interviews with Gaton. I'm posting only snippets of material based on what I've been able to verify.

After returning from a stint in Chile when he was in his mid twenties, Gaton learned about the new creative writing program at UW-Milwaukee and enrolled as one of its first students. He repeatedly says that he was the first, but this is something I have yet to fact-check. The track system has been in place for some time so I am unsure if the set up was different back in the early 70s. Despite this status, however, it is now legend that he dropped out of the undergrad program when he learned that his then longtime girlfriend was pregnant. This transition was eased by a long talk with the head of the creative writing program at that time.

He switched majors and focused on his earlier minor, business. The new plan worked as he was able to secure a job right out of school distributing cheese. Sargentos proved to be a stable company and he provided for his new family but he had not written anything for some time.

Unbeknownst to him, his new bride (with his old friend Bob Watt's encouragment) began sending out his poetry to various publishers. Not all the responses were favorable but she kept her campaign going in secret since the bulk of the poems were written before Gaton entered UWM he wasn't sure of their quality. In time the sample proved to be enough for the University of Toronto Press to request the entire manuscript.

This first book of poems are a strange subject with Gaton. Although the book went through three printings by the University of Toronto Press, it has been dismissed by Gaton countless times only to have him reverse his opinion minutes later.

"She went through so much trouble to get that book printed and all I ever did was complain." Says Gaton years later. He does point out that this printing was what assured he was going to be "unread" in his hometown since he was never very good at his own publicity. However it did assure him readers in the great white north and to this day not everyone in Canada realizes that one of its most popular poets is in fact American.