Alice Major
Alice Major | |
|---|---|
| Born | Scotland |
| Occupation | writer |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Notable works | Welcome to The Anthropocene, and The Chinese Mirror. |
Alice Major is a Canadian poet, writer, and essayist, who served as poet laureate of Edmonton, Alberta.[1]
She has published 12 collections of poetry and a collection of essays on poetry and science. Her work has received multiple awards, most recently an honorary doctorate from the University of Alberta.[2]
Biography
Major emigrated from Scotland at the age of eight, and grew up in Toronto, Ontario before working as a weekly newspaper reporter in central British Columbia. She has lived in Edmonton, Alberta since 1981. She has a BA (English, history) from Trinity College, Toronto at the University of Toronto.[3] Her first book was a prize-winning YA fantasy novel. Since then she has published 12 books of poetry and an essay collection on poetry and science.
She is past-president of both the Writers' Guild of Alberta and the League of Canadian Poets,[4][5] as well as former chair of the Edmonton Arts Council.[6] In 2005, she was appointed to a two-year term as the first poet laureate for the City of Edmonton, and then went on to receive the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award in 2017.[7] During her tenure as poet laureate, she founded the Edmonton Poetry Festival in 2006.[8] In November 2019 she received an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Alberta.
Awards (selected)
- 2017 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award.[9]
- 2016 Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry, for Standard Candles.[10]
- 2012 National Magazine Award Gold Medal (essay category) for “The Ultraviolet Catastrophe.”[11]
- 2012 Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Non-fiction, for Intersecting Sets.[12]
- 2011 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Memory’s Daughter.[13]
- 2009 Pat Lowther Award for The Office Tower Tales.[14]
- 2001 Malahat Review Long Poem Competition.[15]
Shortlisted (selected)
- Raymond Souster Award, for Welcome to the Anthropocene (2019), and Standard Candles (2016).
- City of Edmonton Book Prize, for Welcome to the Anthropocene (2019), The Office Tower Tales (2009), Tales for an Urban Sky (2000), and Lattice of the Years (1999).[16]
Works (selected)
Books
- The Chinese Mirror. (Irwin Publishing, 1988) ISBN 0-7725-1707-X
- Time Travels Light. (Rowan Books, 1992) ISBN 1-895836-01-8
- Lattice of the Years. Bayeux Arts Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-896209-25-4.
- Tales for an Urban Sky. Broken Jaw Press. 1999. ISBN 1-896647-11-1.
- Corona Radiata. (St. Thomas Press, 2000) ISBN 0-9685339-3-0
- Some Bones and a Story. (Wolsak and Wynn, 2001) ISBN 0-919897-74-6
- No Monster (Victoria, Poppy Press, 2002) ISBN 978-1-894603-03-4
- The Occupied World. (University of Alberta Press. 2006) ISBN 978-0-88864-469-5.
- The Office Tower Tales (University of Alberta Press, 2008) ISBN 0-88864-502-3
- Memory's Daughter (University of Alberta Press, 2010) ISBN 978-0-88864-539-5
- Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science (University of Alberta Press, 2011) ISBN 978-0-88864-595-1
- Standard Candles (University of Alberta Press, 2015) ISBN 978-1-77212-091-2
- Welcome to the Anthropocene (University of Alberta Press, 2018) ISBN 978-1-77212-368-5
- Knife on Snow (Turnstone Press, 2023) ISBN 978-0-88801-768-0
Presentations/Papers (selected)
- Scansion and Science – The Anne Szumigalski Memorial Lecture, Toronto, 2017.[17]
- A superposition of brains – Provost’s Lecture at Stony Brook University of New York (cosponsored by the Humanities Institute at Stony Brook and the C.K. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics).[18]
- Numbers with Personality: Ordinal Linguistic Personification – presentation to plenary session, Bridges Conference on Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Education, Culture (University of Waterloo, 2017).[19]
- Convocation address – University of Alberta honorary degree presentation, 2019.[20]
- Perhaps the Plaintive Numbers Flow – presented at Bridges Conference on Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture (Online, 2020).[21]
Anthologies (selected)
- Going it Alone: Plays by Women for Solo Performance. (Nuage Editions, 1997) ISBN 978-0-921833-52-9
- What if...? Amazing stories, ISBN 978-0-88776-458-5
- Threshold: An Anthology of Contemporary Writing from Alberta. (University of Alberta Press. 1999.) ISBN 978-0-88864-338-4
- Poetry and Spiritual Practice: Selections from Contemporary Canadian Poets (St. Thomas Press, 2002) ISBN 978-0-9685339-7-0
- Reading the River: A traveller’s companion to the North Saskatchewan River (Regina, Coteau Books) ISBN 978-1550503173
- How the Light Gets In: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from Canada (Waterford, Ireland, School of Humanities at Waterford Institute of Technology, 2009) ISBN 978-0954028183
- Locations of Grief: An Emotional Geography (Wolsak & Wynn, 2020) ISBN 978-1-989496-14-5
- Waiting: An Anthology of Essays (University of Alberta Press, 2018) ISBN 978-1-77212-383-8
Further reading
- Perkins, Don. "Metaphors, myths, and the eye of the magpie".[22]
- Querengesser, Neil: "Science and the City".[23]
References
- ^ "Alice Major Edmonton, Alberta Poet Laureate". Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Townsend, Sean. "U of A names honorary degree recipients for 2019 fall convocation". University of Alberta. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Alice Major: Biography". Canadian Poetry Online. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "WGA Board of Directors Archive". WGA website. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ ""Alice Major", League of Canadian Poets". Archived from the original on 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ "Alice Major: Biography". Canadian Poetry Online. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Alice Major". The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Our Story". Edmonton Poetry Festival. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Alice Major". The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "BPAA Awards Winners Announced" (PDF). Book Publishers Association of Alberta. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "The Winners of the 35th anniversary National Magazine Awards!". National Magazine Awards. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Helm, Richard. "Edmonton writers dominate awards". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Mather, Nicholas (24 June 2011). "2011 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Memory's Daughter". Theatre Alberta.
- ^ "Pat Lowther Memorial Award". League of Canadian Poets. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Stephens, Melissa. "Unconventional Insight: Melissa Stephens in Conversation with Alice Major". The Malahat Review. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "The Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize Past Finalists". Writers' Guild of alberta. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Anne Szumigalski Lecture Series". League of Canadian Poets. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "September 17 Provost's Lecture with Alice Major". Stony Brook University. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Bridges Waterloo 2017". The Bridges Archive. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Igali, Monika. "Alice Major's Convocation Address". University of Alberta. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Bridges 2020". The Bridges Archive. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Don Perkins (2016). Carriere, Marie; Purcell, Jason (eds.). Ten Canadian Writers in Context. University of Alberta Press. pp. 122–138.
- ISBN 978-1-55238-891-4.
External links
- Alice Major's website
- University of Alberta Press – titles by author Alice Major
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