Claire Harris (13 June 1937-5 February 2018) was a Canadian poet. Harris was born

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

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and lived in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Harris' numerous works explore themes such as mortality, the role and treatment of

women of color The term "person of color" (plural, : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "White people, white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily a ...

in society, and the search for identity. Harris attended university in both

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and

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, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and a post-graduate diploma. She immigrated to Canada in 1966, working as a high school English teacher before publishing her first poetry book in 1984. After this, Harris published six books, as well as co-authoring two more and editing another. Her work has earned her numerous awards; her 1992 collection, ''Drawing Down a Daughter'', was nominated for a

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

. In Calgary, Harris got involved working as a poetry editor for

Dandelion Magazine ''Dandelion Magazine'' was an independent literary magazine published in Calgary, Calgary, Alberta between 1975 and 2011. In its day, according to ''The Literary History of Alberta'', it was considered Alberta’s leading literary magazine. It star ...

from 1981-1989. She had also spread psychological struggles and issues with women experienced by women of Color and women in general.

Bibliography

* 1984 ''Fables from the Women's Quarters'' * 1984 ''Translation into Fiction'' * 1986 ''Travelling to Find a Remedy'' * 1989 ''The Conception of Winter'' * 1992 ''Drawing Down a Daughter'' * 1992 ''Kitchen Talk: An Anthology of Writings by Canadian Women'' (Editor with Edna Alford) * 1995 ''Grammar of Dissent: Poetry and Prose'' (With

Dionne Brand Dionne Brand (born 7 January 1953) is a Canadian poet, novelist, essayist and documentarian. She was Toronto's third Poet Laureate from September 2009 to November 2012. She was admitted to the Order of Canada in 2017

and

M. NourbeSe Philip Marlene Nourbese Philip (born 3 February 1947), usually credited as M. NourbeSe Philip, is a Canadian poet, novelist, playwright, essayist and short story writer. Life and works Born in the Caribbean in Woodlands, Moriah, Trinidad and Tobago, W ...

) * 1996 ''Dipped in Shadow'' * 1999 ''Demon Slayers'' (

Co-Author Collaborative writing, or collabwriting is a method of group work that takes place in the workplace and in the classroom. Researchers expand the idea of collaborative writing beyond groups working together to complete a writing task. Collaboration ...

with Paul Hollis) * 2000 ''She''

References

1937 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian women poets 20th-century Canadian women writers Writers from Calgary Writers from Port of Spain {{Canada-poet-stub