Teva Harrison (August 20, 1976 – April 28, 2019) was a Canadian-American writer and graphic artist. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at age 37, and began to document her experiences with the terminal illness using illustrations and essays. Her works were compiled into a graphic memoir called ''In-Between Days''. The book was a finalist for the 2016

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

, and put Harrison on the list of 16 Torontonians to Watch. Harrison won the 2016

Kobo Emerging Writer Prize The Kobo Emerging Writer Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented since 2015 by online e-book and audiobook retailer and eReader manufacturer Rakuten Kobo Rakuten Kobo Inc., or simply Kobo, is a Canadian company that sells ebooks, audioboo ...

, and was a finalist for the 2017 Joe Shuster Award for Cartoonist/Auteur. She also published ''The Joyful Living Colouring Book'' in 2016, and a posthumous collection of poetry of drawings, ''Not One of These Poems is About You'' was published in January 2020. She wrote for '' The Walrus'', '' Granta'', and ''

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'', and was featured in the '' Globe and Mail'', '' Creative Mornings'', ''HuffPost Canada'', ''Kirkus Review''''s'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. She also spoke on

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about her experience. She became a respected voice on issues around metastatic breast cancer, opioids, and the power of nature. Harrison's art was featured in a solo exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2017, and she was the lead illustrator of ''Draw Me Close'', a virtual-reality theatre production, created by Jordan Tannahill and co-produced by the National Theatre and the National Film Board. Sections of ''Draw Me Close'' were featured at the 2017

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

and the 74th

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. ''Draw Me Close'' was to have its North American premiere with Toronto's

Soulpepper Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...

in 2020.

Death

Harrison died at home from metastatic breast cancer, sparking a national outpouring of grief.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Teva Writers from Toronto 1976 births 2019 deaths Deaths from breast cancer Place of death missing Place of birth missing Canadian women poets Canadian graphic designers Canadian cartoonists Canadian women cartoonists Canadian female comics artists 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian memoirists 21st-century memoirists Canadian women memoirists