Andrea R Canaan (born 1950) is a
Black feminist
Black feminism is a philosophy that centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently valuable, that lack women'sliberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's but because our need as human persons for autonomy."
Race, gen ...
writer, speaker, community organizer, poet and activist.
Early life and education
Canaan was born in
, Louisiana in 1950. She was raised in a close activist and spiritual community.
At twelve years old, Canaan was raped by a Methodist minister where she also faced abuse from a female church camp counselor.
Canaan has also intimated that her mother was aware of this abuse and did nothing to help her child.
Canaan has referenced this abuse in her work by touching upon themes of religious abuses of power and clergy misconduct.
Canaan holds a
M.S.W.
The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...
from
University of Tulane
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...
and a
M.F.A. in non-fiction from the
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
.
In 2018, she received a second M.F.A. in fiction from
Goddard College
Goddard College is a progressive education private liberal arts low-residency college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle, Washington. The college offers undergraduate and gra ...
in Vermont.
In the 1980s, Canaan served as the Director of Women and Employment which helps place women in non-traditional jobs.
Work
Canaan's creative passion is personal wholeness, the transformation of shame into courage for herself and in the lives of other black women.
Her work explores themes of
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
womanhood,
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
, identity labels, and
friendship
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague.
In some cultures, the concept o ...
s between
black women
Black women are women of sub-Saharan African and Afro-diasporic descent, as well as women of Australian Aboriginal and Melanesian descent. The term 'Black' is a racial classification of people, the definition of which has shifted over time and acr ...
.
Bibliography
* ''
This Bridge Called My Back
''This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color'' is a feminist anthology edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa, first published in 1981 by Persephone Press. The second edition was published in 1983 by Kitchen Table: ...
''
* ''The Salt Box House on Bayou Black'' (TBA)
Book chapters
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canaan, Andrea R.
1950 births
African-American women writers
African-American writers
American memoirists
Writers from New Orleans
Living people
African-American feminists
American feminists
American women memoirists
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women