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 ...
anthropologist, author and artist, writes and illustrates picture books for young children and is the author/illustrator of The MiddleGate Books, a series of fantasy books for children inspired by the
Narcisse Snake Pits
The Narcisse Snake Dens is a provincial wildlife management area located in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong about north of Narcisse, Manitoba. The dens are the winter home of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes (''Thamnophis sirtal ...
of Narcisse, Manitoba -- ''The Serpent’s Spell'' (McNally Robinson Book for Young People finalist 2006), ''Amber Ambrosia,'' ''Fish and Sphinx'' (Speculative Literature Foundation Honourable Mention 2008) and ''Kingdom of Trolls'' (Moonbeam Children's Books Award 2011). The books feature the adventures of young cousins Wil and Sophie who live in the secret, magical city of MiddleGate, beset by the return of an ancient secret society known as the Serpent's Chain.
Bridgman is also the author of ''Angel - Homeless in Toronto'' (2016), ''Jimmy Tattoo - Homeless on the Streets of Toronto'' (2016), ''StreetCities: Rehousing the Homeless'' (Broadview Press, 2006) and ''Safe Haven: The Story of a Shelter for Homeless Women'' (University of Toronto Press, 2003), co-author of ''Braving the Street: The Anthropology of Homelessness'' (Berghahn Books, 1999) and co-editor of 'Feminist Fields: Ethnographic Insights'' (Broadview Press, 1999).
Background
Rae Bridgman was born in
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 ...
, and now lives in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. Bridgman received her Bachelor of Arts degree (Classics) and her Bachelor of Music from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, and her Master's (Interdisciplinary Studies) and PhD (Anthropology) from
. She holds the position of Professor in the Department of City Planning at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
in Classy Brass, an amateur women's
brass quintet
A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of Brass instrument, brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two Trumpet, trumpets or Cornet, cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/barito ...
.
Bridgman illustrates her fantasy novels with distinctive pen-and-ink and pan pastel drawings. Her books are also unique for their word-play and use of Latin as a magical language.
Works
Non-fiction:
*''Feminist Fields: Ethnographic Insights'' (co-editors Sally Cole and Heather Howard-Bobiwash). Broadview Press; 1-551111-195-0; 1999. Edited collection.
*''Braving the Street: The Anthropology of Homelessness''. Co-author Irene Glasser. Berghahn Books; 1-57181-097-8; 1999. Academic.
*''I Helped Build That: A Demonstration Employment Training Program for Homeless Youth in Toronto, Canada.'' American Anthropologist. Academic. 2001
*''Safe Haven: The Story of a Shelter for Homeless Women''. University of Toronto Press. Academic. 2003
*''StreetCities: Rehousing the Homeless''. Broadview Press. Academic. 2006
Fiction:
*''The Serpent's Spell''. Great Plains Publications, 2006
*''Amber Ambrosia''. Second of the MiddleGate books, Great Plains Publications, 2007
*''Fish and Sphinx''. The third of the MiddleGate Books, Great Plains Publications, 2008
*''Kingdom of Trolls''. The fourth of the MiddleGate Books, Sybertooth, 2011
*''Angel - Homeless in Toronto''. 2016
*''Jimmy Tattoo - Homeless on the Streets of Toronto''. 2016