CLAIRE  HARRIS

DATE OF BIRTH: 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH: ..., Trinidad
EDUCATION:
  • University College, Dublin, Ireland
  • University of the West Indies
  • CAREER:                                 Harris migrated to Canada in 1966 and taught English and Drama in the Calgary catholic high school system until her retirement in 1994. From 1974 to 1975, she took a leave of absence to travel to Africa to read mass media and communications at the University of Nigeria in Lagos, Nigeria, and began writing poetry. During her teaching career, Harris was the poetry editor for the literary magazine Dandelion from 1981 to 1989, and was co-founder and managing editor of the Alberta literary journal Blue Buffalo from 1984 to 1987. In addition to Nigeria, she read her poetry in Brazil, Germany, India, and across the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean. In the late 1990s, Harris continued to lecture and conduct workshops for young writers of color. Her lifetime works included:
    • The Conception of Winter
    • Grammar of Dissent (with Dionne Brand and Nourbese Philip)
    • 1984 - Fables From the Women's Quarters; Translation Into Fiction
    • 1986 - Travelling to Find A Remedy
    • 1993 - Drawing Down A Daughter
    • 1996 - Dipped in Shadow
    AWARDS:
    • 1984 - Commonwealth Prize for Poetry (Fables From the Women's Quarters); Alberta Poetry Award (Translation Into Fiction)
    • 1986 - Alberta Poetry Award (Travelling to Find A Remedy)
    Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit