Jen Currin is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

poet and fiction writer. Born and raised in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, she is currently based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and teaches creative writing at Kwantlen Polytechnic University."Jen Currin, "In Breath""
Lambda Literary Foundation, May 9, 2011. Her 2010 collection ''The Inquisition Yours'' won the

Audre Lorde Award The Audre Lorde Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour works of lesbian poetry. First presented in 2001, the award was named in memory of American poet Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lo ...

for Lesbian Poetry in 2011, and was shortlisted for that year's Lambda Literary Award,

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, established in 1986, is awarded annually to the best collection of poetry by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. One of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, the award was originally known as the B.C. Prize for Poetry. ...

and ReLit Award. Her 2014 collection School was a finalist for the Pat Lowther Award, the Dorothy Livesay Prize, and a ReLit Award. Currin has published two prior poetry collections, ''The Sleep of Four Cities'' and ''Hagiography''. Her debut short story collection, ''Hider/Seeker'', was published in 2018. It won a Canadian Independent Book Award and was shortlisted for the 2019 ReLit Award for short fiction.

Personal life

She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Bard College, where she studied with John Ashbery, who was her undergraduate thesis advisor. She did her MFA in creative writing at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, studying with poets Norman Dubie and Beckian Fritz Goldberg, and her master's degree in English at Simon Fraser University.

Works

*''The Sleep of Four Cities'' (2005, Anvil Press). . *''Hagiography'' (2008, Coach House Books). . *''The Inquisition Yours'' (2010, Coach House Books). . *''School (2014, Coach House Books). . *''Hider/Seeker'' (2018, Anvil Press). .

References

American women poets Canadian women poets American LGBT poets Canadian lesbian writers Writers from Portland, Oregon Poets from Vancouver American emigrants to Canada Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American poets 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian LGBT poets 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century American women writers American lesbian writers 21st-century Canadian LGBT people {{Canada-poet-stub