VICTOR IRVIN ENNS

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VICTOR IRVIN ENNS

Victor Enns was born in Winnipeg on April 3, 1955 and died on December 9, 2025. Victor has been predeceased by his parents and his older brother Gary. Victor is survived by his dear wife Michelle; his sister Margaret; his children, Alden, Theo, and Bronwyn; as well as four grandchildren, Jane, Nora, Eleanor, and Everett.

Victor grew up in southern Manitoba, where he discovered his love of reading, writing, and poetry. He spent his early teens visiting his sister on the west coast in Halfmoon Bay, where he had the opportunity to learn about jazz from his brother-in-law, John.

Victor would go on to publish his first book of poetry, Jimmy Bang Poems (which later inspired the more recent Jimmy Bang Blues Project), the year he graduated from the University of Manitoba. Over the next two decades, he would balance his passion for writing poetry with a career as an arts administrator and the responsibilities of fatherhood, publishing at least one book of poetry per decade. Correct in this Culture in 1985 came in the midst of the years his three kids were born. This was followed by A Poem of Pears, Lucky Man, Afghanistan Confessions, and Love & Surgery. In his penultimate and final years he completed two books: Always Breathe and Mein Todesbuch - books about staying alive and facing death, respectively.

Victor was a dedicated son who called or visited his aging parents every single day. He made no secret of his pride in and love for his children, whom he surrounded with books and literary magazines, and offered the stability of knowing that dinner was at six o'clock and meatloaf is for Tuesdays.

We'll miss talking to him about our latest reading endeavours, and hearing him describe his latest poetry project, and the peals of his laughter after he'd make a joke. He once said, "If I didn't have a sense of humor, I'd have no sense at all...it's a survival mechanism." We are thankful that he survived as long as he did, in spite of everything. His final spoken words expressed love for all the people he cared for most, but he will live on in his written words, the last of which will be shared at the book launch for Mein Todesbuch on April 4, 2026 at X-Cues, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 03, 2026