Syd Zolf (born December 14, 1968), formerly known as Rachel Zolf, is a Canadian-American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and theorist. They are the author of five poetry collections: ''Janey's Arcadia''(2014), which was nominated for a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

, a Raymond Souster Memorial Award, and a Vine Award; ''Neighbour Procedure''(2010); ''Human Resources''(2007), which won the 2008

Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award ( or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency (Ontario), Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is overseen by ...

for Poetry and was a finalist for the

; ''Masque''(2004), which was shortlisted for the 2005

for Poetry; and ''Her absence, this wanderer''(1999), the title poem of which was a finalist in the CBC Literary Competition. A selected poetry, ''Social Poesis: The Poetry of Rachel Zolf'', was published in 2019. A work of poetics/theory, ''No One's Witness: A Monstrous Poetics'', in 2021 and was a finalist for the 2022 Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism from the Poetry Foundation. They received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts in 2018. Zolf's art video translation of three poems from ''Janey’s Arcadia'' has shown at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Dunlop Art Gallery and other venues. Among their many collaborations, Zolf wrote the film ''The Light Club of Vizcaya: A Women’s Picture'', directed by New York artist

Josiah McElheny Josiah McElheny (1966, Boston) is an artist and sculptor, primarily known for his work with glass blowing and assemblages of glass and mirrored glassed objects (see Glass art). He is a 2006 recipient of the MacArthur Fellows Program. He li ...

, which premiered at Art Basel Miami and showed at the Wexner Center for the Arts, White Cube Bermondsey, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, and elsewhere. They also conducted the first collaborative MFA in Creative Writing ever, ''The Tolerance Project''. Zolf teaches at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. They were the founding poetry editor for ''

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a nation ...

'' magazine and have edited several books of poetry. Their archives are held 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, ...

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 ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

's Special Collections in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. They are the child of author and broadcaster

Larry Zolf Larry Zolf (July 19, 1934 – March 14, 2011)"CBC journalist Larr ...

and Patricia Zolf.

Works

*1999: ''Her Absence, this Wanderer.'' Ottawa: BuschekBooks. *2004: ''Masque.'' Toronto: The Mercury Press. *2007: ''Human Resources.'' Toronto: Coach House Books. *2008: ''Shoot & Weep.'' Vancouver: Nomados. *2010: ''Neighbour Procedure.'' Toronto: Coach House Books. *2014: ''Janey's Arcadia.'' Toronto: Coach House Books. *2019: ''Social Poesis: The Poetry of Rachel Zolf'': Wilfrid Laurier University Press. *2021: ''No One's Witness: A Monstrous Poetics'': Duke University Press.

Awards

* Pew Fellowship in the Arts, 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zolf, Syd 1968 births Living people 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets Jewish Canadian writers American literary editors Non-binary Jews Canadian LGBTQ poets Canadian non-binary writers Canadian non-binary artists 21st-century American poets 21st-century American writers 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people Canadian transgender writers American transgender writers American LGBTQ poets

Works

Awards

''No One's Witness''

''Janey's Arcadia''

''Human Resources''

''Masque''

''Her Absence, This Wanderer''

References

External links