Suzanne S. Rancourt (born 1959) is a poet and veteran of both the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as well being an Abenaki and Huron descendant. She was born and raised in west central

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. She has written a collection of poetry called ''Billboard in the Clouds'', which won the

Native Writers' Circle of the Americas The Native Writers' Circle of the Americas (NWCA) is an organization of Native American writers, most notable for its literary awards, presented annually to Native American writers in three categories: ''First Book of Poetry'', ''First Book of Prose ...

First Book Award in 2001, and some of her other work also appears in ''The Journal of Military Experience'', Volume II. Her work has also been published in the literary journals '' Callaloo'' and ''

The Cimarron Review ''The Cimarron Review'' is a major American literary journal published quarterly by the Oklahoma State University. It was founded in 1967, and its current editor is Lisa Lewis. The magazine has its headquarters in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Contributo ...

,'' as well as many other anthologies. Rancourt has a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry from Vermont College and a Master of Science in Educational Psychology from

University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

. She is currently living in

Hadley, New York Hadley (, ) is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,971 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Hadley, Massachusetts. The Town of Hadley is in the northern part of the county and is west of Glens Fa ...

. Rancourt has coordinated powwows. She has worked as a counselor for Traumatic Brain Injury (

TBI TBI may refer to: Medicine * toe-brachial index, a parameter for the diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease * Total body irradiation, a form of radiation therapy used most commonly in bone marrow transplantation * Tracheobronchial injury, an inj ...

) in New York and has also worked as a parent education specialist for a Head Start program in the northern part of the state. Among other things, Rancourt is also a singer/songwriter, a personal fitness trainer, a percussionist, an herbal educator, and a dance instructor.

Work

Rancourt's poems have been praised for their vivid imagery and simple, elegant style. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in many journals, including Peauxdunque Review, MacQueen's Quinterly,

The Massachusetts Review ''The Massachusetts Review'' is a literary quarterly founded in 1959 by a group of professors from Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It receives financial support from Five Colleg ...

, Turtle Island Quarterly, New Feathers Anthology, Eastern Iowa Review, The Brooklyn Review, Aji Magazine, Nine Muses Poetry, the Journal of Military Experience,

Cimarron Review ''The Cimarron Review'' is a major American literary journal published quarterly by the Oklahoma State University. It was founded in 1967, and its current editor is Lisa Lewis. The magazine has its headquarters in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Contributo ...

, Callaloo, and others. Her first published collection of poetry was titled ''Billboard in the Clouds'' published by

Curbstone Press Curbstone Press was an American publishing company founded in 1975 in Willimantic, Connecticut by Judith Doyle and Alexander “Sandy” Taylor that specialized in fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, and poetry that promote human rights, social ...

. It addresses at least three themes: poems about childhood include descriptions of nature, her parents, and grandparents; ancestral poems cover stories Rancourt has heard conveying deep connections between her people and their land; and poems about contemporary life cover such topics as Rancourt's life with her son, her current home, and her military experience. Her second poetry collection was the 2017 publication ''murmurs at the gate'', in which she explored, using fictional events and others from her own life, the lives and experiences of people who survived different forms of hardship.

Awards

* 2001,

First Book Award

Publications

* * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rancourt, Suzanne S 1959 births Living people American women poets Native American poets University at Albany, SUNY alumni Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni Native American women writers 21st-century American women American people who self-identify as being of Abenaki descent

Work

Awards

Publications

References

Further reading

Reviews

External links