Burke, Anne

PERSONAL:

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; children: a son. Education: Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, B.A. (magna cum laude); Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, B.Ed.; York University, M.A.; doctoral study at University of Ottawa and University of British Columbia.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Calgary, Alberta, Canada. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Prairie Journal, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, editor, 1983—. Founded a publicly chartered school for gifted children; taught at elementary and secondary schools and at universities, including the teaching of English as a second language.

MEMBER:

League of Canadian Poets (Alberta representative to council; chair of Feminist Caucus), Writers Guild of Canada, Magazines Canada, Writers Guild of Alberta (president), Alberta Magazine Publishers Association, ABC Society.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Lester B. Pearson Peace Park Award for Poetry; National Magazine Award nomination, poetry category, for "The Home Family."

WRITINGS:

Matricide (poetry), 1985, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1999.

The Beginning of the Sky (poetry), Jeffrey Pine Press (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1986.

Venues (poetry), 1988, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1999.

A Little Knowledge, 1990.

Incest and Other Adult Survivors, Chakra, 1990.

(Editor) Reinventing Memory, Feminist Caucus, League of Canadian Poets (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1993.

The Collected Poems of Anne Burke, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1997.

Nothing but Skin and Beads: Collected Prose, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1998.

Picasso Friends: Selected Poems, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 2000.

A Little Knowledge: Poems, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 2000.

(Editor) Imprints and Casualties: Poets on Women and Language, Rewriting Memory, Volume 2, Broken Jaw Press (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada), 2000.

Synergy; or, Poems within a Poem, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 2001.

Divine Office (poetry), Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 2002.

Sea Monsters and Others (poetry), Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 2003.

Dispatches (essays and reviews), two volumes, Prairie Annals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 2006.

Editor of Alberta Women; Fictions of Ageing, Volumes 1-2; Prairie Journal Fiction, Volumes 1-2; Prairie Journal Prose; Solstice; and Women and Language, League of Canadian Poets. Work represented in anthologies, including Eating Apples, NeWest Press, 1994; Family and the Possibility of Tradition, Pig Iron Press, 1996; Voices and Echoes, NeWest Press, 1997; and Open 24 Hours, Broken Jaw Press, 1997. Former prairie correspondent, Poetry Canada Review. Author of plays, scripts, essays, poetry, and articles. Contributor to periodicals, including Room of One's Own, Zygote, Canadian Woman Studies, Prism International, Other Voices, NeWest Review, Dandelion, White Wall Review, Small Press Review, and Prairie Fire. Former contributing editor, Cross Canada Writers Quarterly.

SIDELIGHTS:

Anne Burke told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is self-expression. My work is particularly influenced by colleagues both alive and not. I am inspired by life events, or I write ‘against’ certain texts with which I disagree, or when I feel the need to respond. I compose poetry based on subjects or occasions that are meaningful to me and, I hope, to others. I enjoy both creative and academic writing because they appeal to different sides of me. Poetry is a true form and ‘pure,’ while critical writing strives to be practical.

"I write in longhand for the first draft. Then I add layering for effect. It is important to write through the first impressions and then revisit the work. For some works, I write online, but this is usually at the editing stage.

"When I collect works from the past, it is a challenge to update some of them. When I am not writing, I am collecting impressions and images in my subconscious, for future use. While I am reading, I am seeking cadence and inspiration."