Karen Marie Connelly (born 12 March 1969) is a Canadian travel writer, novelist and poet who has written extensively about her experiences living in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and Canada.

Life and work

Connelly was born in Calgary,

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 ...

. At seventeen, she lived in a Thai village thanks to a Rotary exchange scholarship. She returned to Canada a year later. At nineteen, she left for Spain, where she lived almost two years. Having no work

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

, she supported herself by, among other things, teaching

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

. In her spare time, she wrote about her experiences and took photographs with which to illustrate her writing. She also reworked the letters and journals, which she had written in Thailand, into a manuscript that was to become ''Touch the Dragon'' by Karen Connelly. In 1991, she moved to France and settled in Montclar, Avignon, where she studied French and Spanish. Soon after, she travelled to Greece, spending most of her time on the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

, to which she has occasionally returned. She then moved back to Canada for an extended period, writing and promoting her work. Her first book, a poetry collection entitled ''The Small Words in My Body'' (1990), won the Pat Lowther Award for poetry in 1991. Her second book, ''Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal'' (1992), won the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...

for non-fiction. Three poetry collections followed, ''This Brighter Prison'' (1993) ''The Disorder of Love'' (1997) and ''The Border Surrounds Us'' (2000). She also compiled a book of letters, ''One Room in a Castle,'' detailing her experiences in Europe. In 1996, she returned to Thailand and also visited

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

(she prefers the older name, Burma). Her experiences there served as the basis for her novel about a political prisoner, ''The Lizard Cage,'' which won the Orange Broadband Prize for New Writers and was longlisted for the 2007

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

. Connelly remained in Thailand for two years before returning to Canada, where she married. She lives in Toronto.

Bibliography

*''The Small Words in My Body'' – 1990 *''Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal'' — 1992 *''This Brighter Prison: A Book of Journeys'' — 1993 *''One Room in a Castle'' — 1995 *''The Disorder of Love'' — 1997 *''The Border Surrounds Us'' — 2000 *''Grace and Poison'' eprints ''The Small Words in My Body'' and ''The Disorder of Love'' with a new preface– 2001 *''The Lizard Cage'' – 2005 *''Burmese Lessons'' – 2010 *''Come Cold River'' – 2013 *''The Change Room'' – 2017

References

External links

Official WebsiteKaren Connelly's
entry in

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 f ...

1993 Interview Transcript

2007 online interview from CBC Words at Large

Audio interview about Burmese Lessons (2009)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Karen 1969 births Living people 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian women poets Canadian women novelists Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers Writers from Calgary Canadian women non-fiction writers

Life and work

Bibliography

See also

References

External links