Susan McMaster (born 1950) is a Canadian poet, literary editor,

performance poet Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe p ...

, and former president of the

League of Canadian Poets The League of Canadian Poets (LCP), founded in 1966, is a national non-profit arts service organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organization acts as the national association of professional and aspiring poets in Canada. The League co ...

(2011–12).

Early life and education

McMaster came to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

with her family in 1955 and attended First Avenue Public School, Elmdale, Connaught, Lisgar Collegiate (1966),

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Worl ...

(B.A. in English, 1970; graduate studies in journalism), and Ottawa Teachers' College (elementary certificate, 1971).

Editing career

While she taught for a few years, McMaster has spent most of her paid working career as an editor, notably at the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

from 1989 to 2008 as an editor of some 40 art catalogues and founder of the Gallery magazine ''Vernissage''. McMaster's was the founding editor of the feminist and art magazine ' (1973–1975). McMaster is a member of the

, The Writers' Union of Canada, the

Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia The Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia was established in 1975 to foster creative writing and the profession of writing in Nova Scotia. They administer the East Coast Literary Awards, which includes Thomas Head Raddall Award, J.M Abraham Poetry Awa ...

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity w ...

(Canada), the

Writers' Trust The Writers' Buildings, often shortened to just Writers, is the official secretariat building of the state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-meter long building covers the entire northern stretch of the iconic Lal Dighi pond a ...

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

Access copyright Access © or Access Copyright is the operating name of a Canada Business Corporations Act corporation whose official registration name is The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (formerly Cancopy). It is a not-for-profit copyright collective that ...

, and the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

(Quakers).

Personal life

McMaster lives in

, Ontario. She and her husband Ian spend part of each summer at their cottage in Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy. They have two grown daughters, Morel and Aven, and two grandchildren.

Works

Selected publications

*''Branching Out Magazine'' (first Canadian feminist and arts periodical), founding editor. Edmonton, 1973–75, editor 1975–80 Sharon Batt. *''Pass this way again'' (with Andrew McClure and Claude Dupuis, 1983). (Underwhich Editions, 1983). *''Dark Galaxies.'' (

Ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gno ...

, 1986). *''North/South'' (with Andrew McClure and Colin Morton). (Underwhich Editions, 1987). *''Dangerous Graces: Women's Poetry on Stage'' (editor). (Balmuir Publishing, 1987). *''Wordmusic'' (audiotape, with Andrew McClure and Colin Morton, and Paula Quick, Lynne Simpson, and Yasmine Malinowksi from Open Score). (First Draft, 1986). Reissued with additional tracks by Penn Kemp, Max Middle, and Linsey Wellman as ''1981 Wordmusic 2007''. *''The Hummingbird Murders.'' (Quarry Press, 1992). . *''Learning to Ride.'' (Quarry Press, 1994). . *''Dangerous Times.'' (audiotape, with SugarBeat Music & Poetry, 1996). *''Uncommon Prayer.'' (Quarry Press, 1997). . *''Siolence: Poets on Women, Violence and Silence'' (editor). (Quarry Press, 1997). *''SugarBeat Music & Poetry.'' (CD, with Alrick Huebener and Jennifer Giles). (SugarBeat Music & Poetry, 1998). *''Geode Music & Poetry.'' (CD, with AH and JG, and Geode Music & Poetry, 2000). . *''Waging Peace: Poetry and Political Action,'' editor. (Penumbra Press, 2002). . *''La Deriva del Pianeta/World Shift,'' translations into Italian by Ada Donati. (Schifanoia Editore, 2003). . *''Until the Light Bends'' (Black Moss, 2004). Finalist: Ottawa Book Awards; Lampman-Scott Award. . *''Until the Light Bends: Geode Music & Poetry.'' (CD, with AH and JG Pendas Productions, 2004). . *''The Gargoyle's Left Ear: Writing in Ottawa.'' (Black Moss, 2007). *''Crossing Arcs: Alzheimer's, My Mother, and Me.'' (Black Moss, 2009, 2d printing 2010). Finalist: Acorn-Plantos Peoples' Poetry Award; Ottawa Book Awards; Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry. *''Paper Affair: Poems Selected & New.'' (Black Moss, 2010). *''Pith & Wry: Canadian Poetry,'' editor. (Scrivener Press, 2010). .

Selected anthologies

*''Celebrating Canadian Women.'' Ed. Greta Hofmann Nemiroff (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1989). *''A Room at the Heart of Things.'' Ed.

Elisabeth Harvor Erica Elisabeth Arendt Harvor () is a Canadian novelist and poet who lives in Ottawa, Ontario. She was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, where she grew up on the Kingston Peninsula. She enrolled at Concordia University in 1983, receiving an MA ...

(Vehicle, 1999). *''Crossing Boundaries: An International Anthology of Women's Experiences in Sport.'' Eds. Susan J. Bandy, Anne S. Darden. (

Human Kinetics Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

, 1999). *''Line by Line: An Anthology of Canadian Poetry.'' Ed. and with drawings by Heather Spears (Ekstasis Editions, 2002). *''Nth.'' Eds. Carolyn Creed,

Fred Wah Frederick James Wah, OC, (born January 23, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, scholar and former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Life Wah was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, but grew up in the interior (West Kootenay) of British Columbi ...

(Sage Hill Fall Poetry Colloquium, 2003). *''The Lunar Plexus.'' Aut. Penn Kemp (PsychoSpace Sounds, Pendas Productions, 2002). . *''Two Lips.'' Aut. Penn Kemp (PsychoSpace Sounds, Pendas Productions, 2001). . *''Re:Generations: Canadian Women Poets in Conversation.'' Eds. Barbara Godard,

Di Brandt Di Brandt (born 31 January 1952) (née Janzen) often stylized as di brandt, is a Canadian poet and scholar from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She became Winnipeg's first Poet Laureate in 2018. Life and career Brandt grew up in Reinland, a Mennonite farming ...

(Black Moss Press, 2005). .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McMaster, Susan 1950 births Living people 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian Quakers Carleton University alumni Canadian women poets Literary editors Writers from Ottawa Lisgar Collegiate Institute