Cheryl Savageau
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Cheryl Savageau (born April 14, 1950) is an American writer and poet who self-identifies as being of
Abenaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...
descent.


Biography

Savageau is of self-identified
Abenaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...
and
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
descent. She claims that her father, Paul Savageau is of French and Abenaki descent, and that her mother, Cecile Meunier Savageau, is French-Canadian. Savageau was born in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, but grew up in a small island neighborhood on
Lake Quinsigamond Lake Quinsigamond (also ''Long Pond'') is a body of water situated between the city of Worcester and the town of Shrewsbury in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 4 miles (6 km) long, between 50 and 85 feet (15 and 26 m) ...
in
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
. She refers to this lake and her childhood growing up along the shore in her children's book ''Muskrat Will Be Swimming''. She graduated from
Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
with a Bachelor of Science degree with focus on English and Philosophy. It was in college that she really discovered her passion for writing and the connection it gave her to readers. Poetry and storytelling became Savageau's outlet for sharing stories about her ancestors and her Native culture. She was a founding member of Oak and Stone Storytellers, a storytelling group that told stories in concert to adults as well as to children in schools and libraries. During her career, Savageau has won numerous awards for her work. Her children's book, ''Muskrat Will Be Swimming'', was a Smithsonian Notable Book (1996) award winner, won the Skipping Stones Award for children's Environmental Books (1997), and the Best Children's Book Award (1997), from Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. For her work mentoring young and beginning writers, she was awarded Mentor of the Year from Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers (1998). Savageau has also won various fellowships for poetry including the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her writing focuses on retelling Abenaki stories, including the stories of women and the working class. Also a visual artist, she has exhibited her quilts, paintings and other works.


Publications


Autobiography


Poetry

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Children's books


Anthology contributions

* * * ''Sunken Garden Poetry'', Brad Davis, ed. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Ct. 2012 *''Living in Storms. T''om Schram'', ed''. Eastern University Press, ''2008''. *''French Connections: A Gathering of Franco-American Poets''. Christine Gelineau, ed. Louisiana Literature Press, 2007. *''New Directions Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking''. Peter S. Gardner,ed. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2005. *''Approaching Literature in the 21st Century''. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl, eds. Bedford/St. Martin's Press, Boston. 2005. * ''Poetry from Sojourner: A Feminist Anthology'', Ruth Lepson, ed. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois. 2004 *''Connections: Reading and Writing in Cultural Contexts''. Judith A. Stanford, ed. Rivier College, Mayfield Publishing, Calif. 2001. *''My Home As I Remember It''. Native Women in the Arts Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1999. *''The Eye of the Deer''. Carolyn Dunn Anderson and Carol Comfort, eds. Aunt Lute Books, 1999. *''Poetry Nation''. Regie Cabico and Todd Swift, eds. Véhicule Press, Montréal, Canada, 1999. *I''dentity Lessons: Learning American Style''. Maria Mazziotti Gillan and Jennifer Gillan, eds. Viking Penguin, 1999. *''Approaching Poetry: Perspectives and Responses''. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl, eds. St. Martin's Press, 1997. *''Through the Kitchen Window''. Arlene Arvakian, ed. University of Massachusetts, Spring, 1997. *''Durable Breath''. John E. Smelcer and D.L. Birchfield, eds. Salmon Run Press, 1994. *''Two Worlds Walking''. Diane Glancy and C.W. Truesdale, eds. New Rivers Press, 1994. *''Returning the Gift''. Joseph Bruchac, ed. Greenfield Review Press, 1994. *''Poetry Like Bread'' Martín Espada, ed. Curbstone Press, 1994. *''An Ear to the Ground''. Marie Harris and Kathleen Aguero, eds. University of Georgia Press, 1989.


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Cheryl Savageau
at the Poetry Foundation
Cheryl Savageau
at Native American Authors, Internet Public Library *
Dawnland Voices page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savageau, Cheryl 1950 births Living people American women poets American children's writers Writers from Massachusetts People from Worcester County, Massachusetts American feminist writers Clark University alumni American women children's writers 21st-century American women American people who self-identify as being of Abenaki descent