Tanis Rideout is a Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 based writer and photographer.

Born in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Rideout grew up in Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, particularly Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

 where she became involved with the thriving music scene. Rideout has often been referred to as the "Poet Laureate of CanRock."

She has performed on CBC Radio

CBC Radio

CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

, BookTelevision

BookTelevision

BookTelevision is a Canadian, English-language, Category A specialty channel that broadcasts programming relating to books, literature, and various media...

, ZeD

ZeD

ZeD is a Canadian variety television program and website. The series premiered on CBC Television in March 2002 and ran to 2006. Hosted primarily by Sharon Lewis and Ziya Tong, ZeD publicized creative works from Canada and other countries, including a substantial portion of material created by...

and Citytv

Citytv

Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...

. She has toured extensively in North America. Her work has appeared in a range of quarterlies and magazines including A Room of One's Own

A Room of One's Own

A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on 24 October 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928...

, Black Heart Magazine, grey borders, Spire, Pontiac Quarterly, Fireweed, echolocation, Witual and Chart

Chart (magazine)

ChartAttack is a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called Chart, which was published from 1991 to 2009, the web version continues operation....

, and has been short-listed for a number of prizes, including the Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award

Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award

The Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a writer under 35 who has not yet published his or her first book....

, and has received a grant from the Toronto Arts Council.

In the spring of 2005 Rideout joined Sarah Harmer

Sarah Harmer

Sarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.-Biography:Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the well-known Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she...

 to read her poetry on Harmer’s I Love the Escarpment Tour to draw attention to damage being done to the Niagara Escarpment

Niagara Escarpment

The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...

 by ongoing quarrying, and appears in the 2006 June award-winning documentary Escarpment Blues

Escarpment Blues

Escarpment Blues is a Canadian concert and documentary film starring singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer. Directed by Andy Keen and produced by Keen, Harmer and Patrick Sambrook, it was released theatrically in 2005 and on DVD in 2006....

. In August 2006 she was named the Poet Laureate for Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 by the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is a Toronto-based environmental justice advocacy group founded in 2001, with Lake Ontario, the Great Lakes Basin, and allied waterways at heart. It is a licensed member of the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, and a registered Canadian charity...

 and joined Gord Downie (of Canadian band The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, is a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie , Paul Langlois , Rob Baker , Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay . Since their formation in 1983 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, and 46 singles...

) on a tour to promote environmental justice on the lake.

In 2010 Rideout won second prize in the CBC Literary Awards for her poems about Marilyn Bell. Her first novel will be released in spring 2012 by McClelland and Stewart.