Anne Szumigalski, SOM (b. 3 January 1922 in London, England, d. 22 April 1999) was a Canadian poet.

Life

She was born Anne Howard Davis in London, England, and grew up mostly in a

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

village. She served with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

as a medical auxiliary officer and interpreter during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, following British Army forces in 1944-5 across parts of newly liberated Europe. In 1946, she married Jan Szumigalski, (d. 1985) a former officer in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

, and lived with him in north Wales before immigrating to Canada in 1951. They had four children: Kate (born 1946), Elizabeth (1947), Tony (1961) and Mark (1963). She spent the rest of her life in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, first in the remote Big Muddy valley, then in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Writing career

Most of her fifteen books are collections of poetry, but she also wrote a memoir, ''The Voice, the Word, the Text'' (1990) as well as '' Z.'', a play about the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Her first book, ''Woman Reading in Bath'' (1974), was published by Doubleday in New York. Thereafter she made the deliberate choice to publish her work with Canadian presses. She helped found the Saskatchewan Writers Guild and the literary journal ''Grain'', and served as a mentor to many younger writers. Szumigalski combined a love of the Canadian Prairies with a passion for language, a faith in poetry and an intimate knowledge of literary tradition. She was a great admirer of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

, some of whose visionary qualities appear in her own work. Her finest work is collected in a big volume of selected poems, ''On Glassy Wings'' (Coteau, 1997). In 2006 her literary executor

Mark Abley Mark Abley (born 13 May 1955) is a Canadian poet, journalist, editor and non-fiction writer. Both his poetry and several non-fiction books express his interest in endangered languages. He has also published numerous magazine articles. He publishe ...

edited a volume of her posthumous poems, ''When Earth Leaps Up.'' A final posthumous book is expected in 2010. The Manitoba Writers Guild has set up a scholarship in her name. The Saskatchewan Book Award for Poetry is named for her. Her papers are held at the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchew ...

, and

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

.University of Saskatchewan Special Collections Anne Szumilgalski website
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Awards

In 1989, she was awarded the

Saskatchewan Order of Merit The Saskatchewan Order of Merit (french: Ordre du Mérite de la Saskatchewan) is a civilian Award, honour for merit in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor of Saska ...

. Her 1995 collection ''Voice'', featuring paintings by Marie Elyse St. George, won the

Governor General's Award for English language poetry This is a list of recipients and nominees of the Governor General's Awards award for English-language poetry. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama was divided.Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

Poetry

* ''A Peeled Wand: Selected Poems of Anne Szumigalski'' Winnipeg: Signature Editions, 2011. (posthumous poems) * ''When Earth Leaps Up.'' London: Brick Books, 2006. (posthumous poems) * ''Sermons on stones: words and images''. Saskatoon: Hagios Press, 1997. * ''On glassy wings: poems new & selected''. Regina: Coteau Books, 1997. * ''Voice''. with Marie Elyse St. George. Regina: Coteau Books, 1995. * ''Why couldn't you see blue?'' Caroline Heath. edited by Anne Szumigalski. Regina: Coteau Books, 1994. * ''Rapture of the deep''. paintings by G.N. Louise Jonasson. Regina: Coteau Books, 1991. * ''Journey/journée''. with Terrence Heath and drawings and wood engravings by Jim Westergard. Red Deer, Alta.: Red Deer College Press, 1988. * ''Dogstones: selected and new poems''. Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1986. * ''Heading out: the new Saskatchewan poets''. edited by Don Kerr and Anne Szumigalski. Coteau Books, * ''Jaw, Sask''.: Coteau Books, 1986. * ''Instar: poems and stories''. Red Deer, Alta.: RDC Press, 1985. * ''Risks: a poem''. illustrations by Jim Westergard. Red Deer, Alta.: RDC Press, 1983. * ''Doctrine of signatures''. Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1983. * ''A game of angels''. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1980. * ''Wild man's butte: a stereophonic poem''. with Terrence Heath. Moose Jaw, Sask.: Coteau Books, 1979. * ''Thunder Creek'' Pub. Co-operative, 1979. * ''Woman reading in bath: poems''. Toronto: Doubleday Canada; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1974.

References

External links

''Grain''

Anne Szumigalski
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

''Anne Szumigalski'', Saskatchewan Publishers Group

''Anne Szumigalski'', Poetry Project, Atwater Library, February 15, 2007

''Anne Szumigalski Collection'', Mark Abley, University of Saskatchewan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szumigalski, Anne 1922 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian women poets English emigrants to Canada Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit Writers from Hampshire Governor General's Award-winning poets Writers from London 20th-century Canadian women writers