Susan Musgrave (born March 12, 1951) is a Canadian
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
children's writer
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
. She was born in
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...
, to Canadian parents, and currently lives in
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, ...
, dividing her time between
Sidney and
Haida Gwaii
Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecat ...
. She has been nominated several times for Canada's Governor General literary awards.
Musgrave left school at 14, and had her first works published at 16.
In 1986, at a wedding held in prison,
she married
Stephen Reid, a writer, convicted
bank robber
Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tell ...
and former member of the infamous band of thieves known as the
Stopwatch Gang. Their relationship was chronicled in 1999 in the
CBC series ''
The Fifth Estate''.
Musgrave defended
Al Purdy
Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four b ...
's collection of poetry, ''Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets: Selected Poems, 1962–1996'', in ''
Canada Reads 2006'', a nationally broadcast radio "battle of the books" competition.
She currently teaches creative writing in the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
's optional residency
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
program.
Musgrave's archives are held by the
William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
at
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
.
Bibliography
Poetry
*''Songs of the Sea-Witch'' — 1970
*''Entrance of the Celebrant'' — 1972
*''Grave-Dirt and Selected Strawberries'' — 1973
*''Gullband Thought Measles was a Happy Ending'' — 1974
*''The Impstone'' — 1976
*''Selected Strawberries and Other Poems'' — 1977
*''Kiskatinaw Songs'' — 1978
*''Becky Swan's Book'' — 1978
*''A Man to Marry, A Man to Bury'' — 1979 (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 ...
)
*''Tarts and Muggers'' — 1982
*''Right through the Heart'' — 1982
*''Cocktails at the Mausoleum'' — 1985
*''The Embalmer's Art'' — 1991
*''Forcing the Narcissus'' — 1994
*''Things That Keep and Do Not Change'' — 1999
*''What the Small Day Cannot Hold: Collected Poems 1970-1985'' — 2000
*''When the World Is Not Our Home: Selected Poems 1985-2000'' — 2009
*''Obituary of Light: the Sangan River Meditations'' — 2009
*''Origami Dove'' — 2011
Fiction
*''The Charcoal Burners'' — 1980 (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 ...
)
*''The Dancing Chicken'' — 1987
*''Cargo of Orchids'' — 2000
*''Given'' — 2012
Non-fiction
*''Great Musgrave'' — 1989
*''Musgrave Landing: Musings on the Writing Life'' — 1994
*''You're in Canada Now... Motherfucker: A Memoir of Sorts'' — 2005
*''A Taste of Haida Gwaii: Food Gathering and Feasting at the Edge of the World — 2015''
Children's literature
*''Gullband'' — 1980
*''Hag Head'' — 1980
*''Kestrel and Leonardo'' — 1990
*''Dreams Are More Real than Bathtubs'' — 1998
*''Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle, Hug" — 2012
*''Love You More'' — 2012
Compiled or edited by Musgrave
*''Because You Loved Being a Stranger: 55 Poets Celebrate Patrick Lane'' — 1994
*''Nerves Out Loud: Critical Moments in the Lives of Seven Teen Girls'' — 2001
*''You Be Me: Friendship in the Lives of Teen Girls'' — 2002
*''The Fed Anthology'' — 2003
*''Certain Things About My Mother: Daughters Speak'' — 2003
*''Perfectly Secret: The Hidden Lives of Seven Teen Girls'' — 2004
Song lyrics
*"Ode to the missing but not forgotten" — 2006 (performed by the guitarist Brad Prevedoros and singer Amber Smith)
References
External links
Susan Musgrave's website*
Musgraveat "English-Canadian writers",
Athabasca University
Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public research university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first ...
, by J. McKay. Additional Link: Bibliography of works about Musgrave
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrave, Susan
1951 births
Living people
20th-century Canadian novelists
20th-century Canadian poets
21st-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Canadian poets
Canadian children's writers
Canadian women novelists
Canadian women poets
Canadian women children's writers
20th-century Canadian women writers
21st-century Canadian women writers