Emma Healey (born January 10, 1991) is a Canadian writer and poet from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Early life and education

Healey was born in

on a January 10, 1991 to actor and playwright parents. She was named after Jane Austen's character, Emma, and writer

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern literature, Southe ...

. Healey has stereoblindness, having been born blind in one eye. She studied creative writing at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, spending a year on exchange at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

. While at Concordia she was twice awarded the Irving Layton Award for Creative Writing.

Writing

''Begin With the End in Mind'', Healey's first collection of poetry, was published in 2012. It was selected by poet and writer Stan Rogal in 2015 as the reason he viewed Healey as an up-and-comer to watch. Her second collection of poetry, ''Stereoblind'', was released by House of Anansi Press in 2018. The collection deals in part with learning that the name of her visual condition had a name. The front cover art was designed by her then roommate, artist Layne Hinton. Healey's book ''Best Young Woman Job Book'' was released by Random House in 2022. The memoir tracks Healey's career through a series of odd jobs that haven't aligned with her initial idea of what it would mean to be a writer. Canadian author and commentator,

Elamin Abdelmahmoud Elamin Abdelmahmoud is a Sudanese Canadian writer, culture and politics commentator, and podcast host based in Toronto, Ontario. He is best known as a culture writer for BuzzFeed and as host of ''Pop Chat'' and co-host of ''Party Lines'' with R ...

, said of her writing in the book as having "flare and style and an incredibly infuriating amount of skill". Healey was the poetry critic for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' from 2014 to 2016. She has also been a regular contributor to the music blog ''

Said the Gramophone Said the Gramophone is an mp3 blog launched in 2003, one of the first of its type. Founded by Montreal novelist Sean Michaels, as of 2016 the site is maintained with contributions by poet Emma Healey, zine-maker Jeff Miller and Mitz Takahashi. ...

''. In April 2018, Healey was Open Book's writer in residence. In a 2014 ''

The Hairpin ''The Hairpin'' was a women's website in The Awl network. It was founded in 2010 by Edith Zimmerman. It ceased publication at the end of January 2018. From 2013 to 2014, ''The Hairpin'' was edited by Emma Carmichael, with Jia Tolentino as contri ...

'' article Healey wrote about her experience dating an anonymous faculty member, which began as consensual but was ultimately defined by an imbalance of power. Initially ignored by Concordia, attention was drawn to the article in 2018 after former Concordia student, Mike Spry, wrote about the toxicity of the writing program. Author

Heather O'Neill Heather O'Neill (born 1973) is a Canadian novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist, who published her debut novel, '' Lullabies for Little Criminals'', in 2006. The novel was subsequently selected for the 2007 edition of ' ...

subsequently came forward as a groping victim while a student at the school, two decades earlier. In 2018, Healey filed a formal complaint against a male professor. In October 2019 it was reported that the professor was no longer working at the school.

Works

* ''Begin With the End in Mind'' (2012) * ''Stereoblind'' (2018) * ''Best Young Woman Job Book: A Memoir'' (2022) * ''Power''(2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Emma 1991 births Living people Canadian women poets Concordia University alumni Writers from Toronto