Sarah Klassen (born 1932) is an award-winning Canadian writer living 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. Klassen's first volume of poetry, ''Journey to Yalta'', was awarded the

Gerald Lampert Memorial Award The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is made annually by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert Gerald Lampert (c. 1924 - April 29, 1978) w ...

in 1989. Klassen is the recipient of Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry and Klassen's novel, ''The Wittenbergs'', was awarded the

Margaret McWilliams Award The Margaret McWilliams Awards are an annual literary award in Manitoba, Canada presented by the Manitoba Historical Society. The society awards prizes in the categories of Scholarly History Book, Popular History Book, and Local History Book. Inaugu ...

for popular history.

Career

Sarah Klassen was born in

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 ...

, and currently resides there. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Education degree from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

. Sarah Klassen taught English in the public school system in Winnipeg, and at summer institutes in Lithuania and Ukraine. Klassen has been recognized as part of a flourishing of

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

novelists and poets emerging in the 1980s. Much of Klassen's writing reflects creatively on the experiences and locations of

Russian Mennonite The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for abo ...

settlements in the early part of the twentieth century, a topic relayed to her in stories by her own mother.

Bibliography

Novels

*''The Wittenbergs'', Winnipeg: Turnstone Press (2013) *''The Russian Daughter'' Winnipeg: CMU Press (2022)

Poetry

*''Journey to Yalta'' Winnipeg:

Turnstone Press Turnstone Press is a Canadian literary publisher founded in 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the oldest in Manitoba and among the most respected independent publishers in Canada. Turnstone was founded in 1976 by academics David Arnason, John Beaver, D ...

(1988) *''Violence and Mercy'' Windsor: Netherlandic Press (1991) *''Borderwatch'' Windsor: Netherlandic Press (1993) *''Dangerous Elements'' Kingston: Quarry Press (1998) *''

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( , ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995. ...

: Songs for Hunger and Love'' Hamilton: Wolsak and Wynn (1999) *''A Curious Beatitude'' Winnipeg: The Muses' Company (2006) *''Monstrance'' Winnipeg: Turnstone Press (2012) *''Tree of Life'' Winnipeg:

(2020)

Short Stories

*''The Peony Season'' Winnipeg: Turnstone Press (2000) *''A Feast of Longing'' Regina, SK: Coteau Books (2007)

Awards

* Winner,

Gerald Lampert Award The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is made annually by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert Gerald Lampert (c. 1924 - April 29, 1978) w ...

for ''Journey to Yalta'', 1988. * Short Grain Contest, first prize, prose poem, 1989. * Shortlisted,

Pat Lowther Award The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman.Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry Manitoba Books Awards/Les Prix du livre du Manitoba is the premiere annual book awards for Manitoba, Canada. Originating in 1988, an award gala is usually held in April in Winnipeg, Manitoba, celebrating the best of Manitoba writing and publishing ...

, 2006. * Winner, Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry for ''A Curious Beatitude'', 2007. * Winner, High Plains Book Award for Fiction for ''A Feast of Longing'', 2008. * Winner, Word Award for ''Monstrance'', 2013. * Winner,

for Popular History for ''The Wittenbergs'', 2013.

Weblinks

Giessener Elektronische Bibliothek:
Julia Michael, ''Narrating communities: constructing and challenging Mennonite Canadian identities through narrative,'' thesis

Universität Gießen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

2017, therein ''Demythologizing Stories of Martyrdom as Narratives of Victimization in Sarah Klassen's "Dangerous Elements",'' pp 59 – 73

References

1932 births Living people 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian women short story writers Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets Canadian Mennonites Writers from Winnipeg 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers Mennonite writers Mennonite poets {{Canada-poet-stub