Judith Elaine Cowan (September 21, 1943 – January 14, 2025) was a Canadian academic, translator, and writer. Judith Elaine Cowan was born in

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

, and grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. She attended

West Hill Collegiate Institute West Hill Collegiate Institute (also called West Hill CI, WHCI or West Hill) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in eastern Scarborough in the neighbourhood of West Hill. It is under the jurisdiction of the Toronto Distri ...

before studying at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

and at the

Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...

. She taught English language literature at the

Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières The (, ''University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières'', UQTR), also known as "l'université du peuple", established in 1969 and mainly located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, is a public university within the network. As of April 2016, the uni ...

. Cowan has translated poetry written by Quebec authors into English for the magazine ''Ellipse'' as well as translating other works by French authors. Her short stories have appeared in literary magazines such as ''Quarry'', ''

Queen's Quarterly ''Queen's Quarterly'' is a Canadian quarterly peer-reviewed literary and academic journal of cultural studies. Established in 1893, Queen's Quarterly is Canada's oldest academic quarterly. This magazine has won numerous awards including awards and ...

'', ''

The Malahat Review ''The Malahat Review'' is a Canadian quarterly literary magazine established in 1967. It features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian litera ...

'', ''

The Fiddlehead ''The Fiddlehead'' is a Canadian literary magazine, published four times annually at the University of New Brunswick. It is the oldest Canadian literary magazine which is still in circulation. History and profile ''The Fiddlehead'' was establ ...

'' and ''

The Antigonish Review ''The Antigonish Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine publishing new and established contemporary literary fiction, reviews, non-fiction articles/essays, translations, and poetry. Since 2005, the magazine runs an annual competition, the Shel ...

'' and, in translation, in the magazines '' L'Atelier du roman'', ''Liberté'' and ''XYZ''. Cowan died in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on January 14, 2025.

Selected works

* ''Quartz and Mica'', translated from ''Quartz et mica'' by

Yolande Villemaire Yolande Villemaire (born 28 August 1949 in Mirabel, Quebec) is a Canadian novelist, short story writer and poet. She obtained a Bachelor in theater (1970) and a master's degree in letters (1974) from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Unive ...

(1987), finalist for the

John Glassco Translation Prize The John Glassco Translation Prize is an annual Canadian literary award, presented by the Literary Translators' Association of Canada to a book judged the year's best translation into either English or French of a work originally written in any ...

* ''This Desert Now'', translated from ''Le désert maintenant'' by

Yves Préfontaine Yves Préfontaine (1 February 1937 in Montreal, Quebec – 31 March 2019) was a Canadian writer based in Quebec. Books * Boreal (1967) * Les Temples effondres (1957) * La Poesie et nous (1958) * L'Antre du poeme (1960) * Pays sans parole (1967) ...

(1993) * ''More Than Life Itself'', short stories (1997), translated into French as ''Plus que la vie même'' (2000), received the * ''Gambler's Fallacy'', short stories (2001), translated into French as ''La loi des grands nombres'' (2003), received the * ''Mirabel'' translated from ''Lignes aériennes'' by

Pierre Nepveu Pierre Nepveu (born 16 September 1946 in Montreal, Quebec) is a French Canadian poet, novelist and essayist. As a scholar, he specializes in modern Quebec poetry, in particular the work of Gaston Miron. He taught at the French Studies Depar ...

(2004), received the

Governor General's Award for French to English translation This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s References {{Governor General's Literary Awards * Translation awards ...

* ''Meridian Line'', translated from ''Origine des méridiens'' by (2011), finalist for the Governor General's Award for Translation

References

1943 births 2025 deaths People from Sydney, Nova Scotia Canadian women short story writers Governor General's Award–winning translators University of Toronto alumni York University alumni Université de Sherbrooke alumni 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian translators 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian women non-fiction writers {{Canada-translator-stub