Di Brandt
Encyclopedia
Di Brandt is an award-winning Canadian
poet
and literary critic
. Despite the similarity of their names, she should not be confused with poet Dionne Brand
.
. She was raised in Reinland, a conservative, separatist Mennonite
village in Southern Manitoba. Di is a twin, she and her fraternal twin sister are the middle children, born between an older brother and a younger sister. Di left home at the age of 17 and moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to attend college. She received a BA from the University of Manitoba
, and went on to a Masters of Arts at the University of Toronto
and a PhD in English literature at the University of Manitoba. She taught English and creative writing at the University of Windsor
in Windsor, Ontario for 7 years. She then went on to teach at Brandon University
where she currently holds the position of Canada Research Chair.
She has also published a critical study of contemporary Canadian women's texts,
She has received the Canadian Authors' Association National Poetry Award, the McNally Robinson
Award for Manitoba Book of the Year, and the Gerald Lampert Award
, and has been twice shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Poetry, as well as the Dillons Commonwealth Poetry Prize. Di Brandt is a former poetry editor of Prairie Fire Magazine and Contemporary Verse 2.
Her poetry has been set to music, and adapted for theatre, CD, film, video, radio, television, multimedia performance, and dance. She is currently writing "Berlin Notes," based on a six month sabbatical visit to that city (the first chapter was a cover feature in Prairie Fire Fall 2003), and co-editing two volumes of proceedings from the conference/festival, Wider Boundaries of Daring: The Modernist Impulse in Canadian Women's Poetry (University of Windsor
, 2001), with Barbara Godard, of York University
. She is also co-producing Planet Earth, a musical CD featuring settings of Canadian women's poetry by well known composers like Violet Archer, Barbara Pentland, Chester Duncan, Jana Skarecky, Paul McIntyre, and others (performed, commissioned for, and premiered at the Wider Boundaries conference/festival), together with Barbara Godard, Jana Skarecky, and Brenda Muller. Her poetry suite, Sweet Sweet Blood will be premiered at the Sounding in the Land music conference at the University of Waterloo
in May 2004.
As a juror for the 2008 Governor General's Awards
, Brandt was at the centre of some controversy.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and literary critic
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
. Despite the similarity of their names, she should not be confused with poet Dionne Brand
Dionne Brand
Dionne Brand is a Canadian poet, novelist, essayist and documentarian. She was named Toronto's third Poet Laureate in September 2009.-Biography:...
.
Biography
Di Brandt was born Diana Ruth Janzen in Winkler, ManitobaWinkler, Manitoba
Winkler is a small city with a population of about 9,900 located in southern Manitoba, Canada in the Rural Municipality of Stanley...
. She was raised in Reinland, a conservative, separatist Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
village in Southern Manitoba. Di is a twin, she and her fraternal twin sister are the middle children, born between an older brother and a younger sister. Di left home at the age of 17 and moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to attend college. She received a BA from the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
, and went on to a Masters of Arts at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and a PhD in English literature at the University of Manitoba. She taught English and creative writing at the University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
in Windsor, Ontario for 7 years. She then went on to teach at Brandon University
Brandon University
Brandon University is a Canadian university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, with an enrolment of 3383 full-time and part-time students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon College as a Baptist institution. It was chartered as a university by then President Dr....
where she currently holds the position of Canada Research Chair.
Her work
Di Brandt has published five collections of poetry:- Now You Care (Toronto: Coach House, 2003),
- Jerusalem, beloved (Winnipeg: Turnstone, 1995),
- mother, not mother (Toronto: Mercury, 1992),
- Agnes in the sky (Winnipeg: Turnstone, 1990), and
- questions i asked my mother (Winnipeg: Turnstone, 1987).
- So this is the world & here I am in it (Edmonton: NeWest Press, 2007), is a collection of essays.
She has also published a critical study of contemporary Canadian women's texts,
- Wild Mother Dancing: Maternal Narrative in Canadian Literature (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1993), and a collection of creative essays on cross-cultural poetics,
- Dancing Naked: Narrative Strategies for Writing Across Centuries (Toronto: Mercury, 1996). She also recently released Awakenings, a collaborative poetry/music CD with Dorothy LivesayDorothy LivesayDorothy Kathleen May Livesay, was a Canadian poet who twice won the Governor General`s Award in the 1940s, and was "senior woman writer in Canada" during the 1970s and 1980s.-Life:...
(posthumously), Carol Ann Weaver, and Rebecca Campbell (2003).
She has received the Canadian Authors' Association National Poetry Award, the McNally Robinson
McNally Robinson
McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by Holly and Paul McNally and their daughter Victoria .- Overview :...
Award for Manitoba Book of the Year, and the Gerald Lampert Award
Gerald Lampert Award
The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is made annually by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert...
, and has been twice shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Poetry, as well as the Dillons Commonwealth Poetry Prize. Di Brandt is a former poetry editor of Prairie Fire Magazine and Contemporary Verse 2.
Her poetry has been set to music, and adapted for theatre, CD, film, video, radio, television, multimedia performance, and dance. She is currently writing "Berlin Notes," based on a six month sabbatical visit to that city (the first chapter was a cover feature in Prairie Fire Fall 2003), and co-editing two volumes of proceedings from the conference/festival, Wider Boundaries of Daring: The Modernist Impulse in Canadian Women's Poetry (University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
, 2001), with Barbara Godard, of York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. She is also co-producing Planet Earth, a musical CD featuring settings of Canadian women's poetry by well known composers like Violet Archer, Barbara Pentland, Chester Duncan, Jana Skarecky, Paul McIntyre, and others (performed, commissioned for, and premiered at the Wider Boundaries conference/festival), together with Barbara Godard, Jana Skarecky, and Brenda Muller. Her poetry suite, Sweet Sweet Blood will be premiered at the Sounding in the Land music conference at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in May 2004.
As a juror for the 2008 Governor General's Awards
2008 Governor General's Awards
The shortlisted nominees for the 2008 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 21, and winning titles were announced on November 18...
, Brandt was at the centre of some controversy.
Selected publications
- The Lottery of History. Brandon, Radish Press, 2008.
- So this is the world & here I am in it. Edmonton, NeWest Press, 2007.
- Now You Care. Toronto, Coach House Books, 2004.
- Dancing Naked: Narrative Strategies for Writing Across Centuries. Stratford, Ontario: Mercury Press, 1996.
- Jerusalem, beloved. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1995. *Mother, not mother. Stratford, Ontario: Mercury Press, 1992.
- Agnes in the sky. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1990.
- questions i asked my mother. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1987.
Awards
- Shortlisted, Griffin Poetry PrizeGriffin Poetry PrizeThe Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
, for Now You Care, 2004. - Shortlisted, Pat Lowther Award for Poetry for Now You Care, 2004.
- Shortlisted, Trillium Prize for Best Book for Now You Care, 2004.
- Canadian Authors' Association National Poetry Award, for Jerusalem, beloved, 1995.
- Shortlisted, Governor General's AwardGovernor General's AwardThe Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
, for Jerusalem, beloved, 1995. - Silver National Magazine Award for he sound the wind makes, New Quarterly, 1995.
- McNally Robinson Manitoba Book of the Year Award, for Agnes in the sky, 1990.
- Shortlisted, Dillons Commonwealth Poetry Prize, for questions i asked my mother, 1988.
- Gerald Lampert AwardGerald Lampert AwardThe Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is made annually by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert...
, for questions i asked my mother, 1987. - Shortlisted, Governor General's AwardGovernor General's AwardThe Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
, for poetry, for questions i asked my mother, 1987.