Anne Simpson
Encyclopedia
Career
Simpson received her B.A.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degrees from Queen’s University, and she also graduated in Fine Arts from OCAD University (formerly the Ontario College of Art). Subsequently, she worked as a CUSO
CUSO
CUSO was founded June 6, 1961 as Canadian University Service Overseas . It was a Canadian non-profit organization that provided volunteers to aid in the development of Third World countries. In 2008, CUSO merged with VSO Canada to become CUSO-VSO...
volunteer English teacher for two years in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. She teaches part-time at St. Francis Xavier University, where she established the Writing Centre, and she continues to do some work for the Coady International Institute at StFX.
She was the co-winner of the 1997 Journey Prize
Journey Prize
The Journey Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary magazine. The award was endowed by James A...
, awarded for her short story Dreaming Snow. Her second collection of poetry, Loop (2003), was the winner of the 2004 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize
Griffin Poetry Prize
The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
. Loop has been reviewed as containing "bleak, well-wrought poems about history’s nightmares [as] Simpson conducts exhumations and postmortems, and tracks the scars of the human record" . Her other poetry collections include Light Falls Through You (2000), Quick (2007), and Is (2011). Her second novel, Falling (2008),a Canadian bestseller, was the winner of the Dartmouth Fiction Award . It was long-listed for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. She has also written a book of essays on poetics, The Marram Grass: Poetry and Otherness (2009).
She has been the writer-in-residence at a number of institutions, including the University of New Brunswick, the Medical Humanities Program at Dalhousie University, the Saskatoon Public Library, the University of Prince Edward Island, and, most recently, Dalhousie University. She has also been a faculty member at the Banff Centre. She lives in Antigonish
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Antigonish is a Canadian town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous highland games in North America.-History:...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
Poetry
- Light Falls Through You - 20002000 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Griffin Poetry Prize is established, with one award given each year for the best work by a Canadian poet and one award given for best work in the English language internationally.* February —...
(winner of the Gerald Lampert AwardGerald Lampert AwardThe Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is made annually by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert...
and the Atlantic Poetry PrizeAtlantic Poetry PrizeThe Atlantic Poetry Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia, to the best work of poetry published by a writer from the Atlantic provinces.-Winners:*1998 - Carmelita McGrath, To the New World...
) ISBN 0-7710-8077-8 - Loop - 20032003 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry was opened at Queens University, Belfast, this year. It houses the Heaney Media Archive, a unique record of Heaney's entire oeuvre, as well as a full catalogue of...
(shortlisted for the 2003 Governor General's AwardGovernor General's AwardThe Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
, winner of the 2004 Canadian Griffin Poetry PrizeGriffin Poetry PrizeThe Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
) ISBN 0-7710-8075-1 - Quick - 2007 ISBN 0-7710-8091-3 (winner of the 2008 Pat Lowther AwardPat Lowther AwardThe Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman. It is presented in honour of poet Pat Lowther, who was murdered by her husband in 1975. Each winner receives an honorarium of $1000.-Winners:*1981 - M...
) - Is - 2011 ISBN 0-7710-8051-7
Novels
- Canterbury Beach - 2001 (shortlisted for the Thomas Head Raddall AwardThomas Head Raddall AwardThe Thomas Head Raddall Award is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada and the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia, to the best work of adult fiction published in the previous year by a writer from the Atlantic provinces...
) ISBN 0-670-89484-2 - Falling - 2008 ISBN 978-0-7710-8090-6
Essays
- A Ragged Pen: Essays on Poetry & Memory - 2006 Gaspereau Press ISBN 9781554470303
- The Marram Grass: Poetry & Otherness - 2009 Gaspereau Press ISBN 9781554470716