Anne Simpson (born 1956) is a Canadian poet, novelist, artist and essayist. She was a recipient of the Griffin Poetry Prize.
Biography Simpson received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Queen's University, and graduated in Fine Arts from OCAD University (formerly the Ontario College of Art). Subsequently, she worked as a CUSO volunteer English teacher for two years in Nigeria.
Simpson has been the writer-in-residence at a number of institutions, including the University of New Brunswick, the Medical Humanities Program at Dalhousie University (2004), the Saskatoon Public Library, the University of Prince Edward Island, Dalhousie University (2011), and Memorial University. She has been a faculty member at Sage Hill Writing Experience and the Banff Centre.
She is an adjunct professor at St. Francis Xavier University, where she established the Writing Centre.
Simpson lives in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Books Simpson was the co-winner of the 1997 Journey Prize,"Journey Prize ends in a tie". Edmonton Journal, October 24, 1997. awarded for her short story Dreaming Snow. Her second collection of poetry, Loop (McClelland & Stewart, 2003), was the winner of the 2004 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize. Loop contains many poems composed in sequences, including, notably, a poetic demonstration of a Möbius strip.Judges Citation, Griffin Trust Poetry Prize 2004
Her other poetry collections include Light Falls Through You (McClelland & Stewart, 2000), winner of the Gerald Lampert Award and the Atlantic Poetry Prize, Quick (McClelland & Stewart, 2007), winner of the Pat Lowther Award, and Is (McClelland & Stewart, 2011) in which Simpson 'negotiates an ever-changing path between language and structure'.Review of 'Is'- Vancouver Sun, 2011
Simpson has written three novels: Speechless (Freehand, 2020), Canterbury Beach (Penguin, 2001) and Falling (McClelland & Stewart, 2008), which was a Canadian bestseller and winner of the Dartmouth Fiction Award. It was long-listed for the International Dublin Literary Award.
She has also written a book of essays on poetics, The Marram Grass: Poetry and Otherness (Gaspereau, 2009).
Publications Poetry Light Falls Through You – 2000 (winner of the Gerald Lampert Award and the Atlantic Poetry Prize) Loop – 2003 (shortlisted for the 2003 Governor General's Award, winner of the 2004 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize) Quick – 2007 (winner of the 2008 Pat Lowther Award) Is – 2011
Novels Canterbury Beach – 2001 (shortlisted for the Thomas Head Raddall Award) Falling – 2008 Speechless – 2020
Essays A Ragged Pen: Essays on Poetry & Memory – 2006 Gaspereau Press The Marram Grass: Poetry & Otherness – 2009 Gaspereau Press Experiments in Distant Influence – 2020 Gaspereau Press
References
External links
Griffin Poetry Prize biography, poetry reading extract and citation Seven small poems 2003– Arts & Opinion Vol 2 no 4 Example of Simpson's poetry- 'Orpheus afterwards' Examples of Simpson's Art Simpson writing website Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia Biography