Gay Allison

Gay Allison was born in Saskatchewan and grew up on the prairies. She has lived in Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto. She has an M.A. in English, and taught all Grade levels in schools across Canada. She has been fiction editor of The Canadian Forum, poetry editor of Waves and is founding editor of Fireweed. She is also a founding member of the Women's Writing Collective, and is on the Advisory Board of Tiger Lily, a magazine by women of colour. She was a poetry instructor for "The Women and Words Writing Retreat" in Vancouver in 1991. She conducts poetry workshops across Canada as well as in the Brunswick House B&B. She evaluates manuscripts and works with writing students on an individual basis. She lives in Stratford, Ontario.

Awards
Federation of Women Teachers' Association of Ontario, Poetry Award, 1982, 1986.
Tyrone Guthrie Award, Stratford festival, 1997.

Selected Publications
Life: Still. (Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1981).
The Unravelling. (Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1986).
Fungus Lady (children's poetry).
In the Valley of the Butterflies.

Selected Anthologies
Women and Words: The Anthology/Les femmes et les mots: Une anthologie. (Harbour Publishing, 1984).
Sp/Elles: Poetry by Canadian Women/Poésie de femmes canadiennes. (Black Moss Press, 1986).
Nineteenth Moon. ( McGraw-Hill Ryerson Press, 1986).

Books in Print
Allison, Gay
Fungus Lady (children's poetry).
In the Valley of the Butterflies. Life: Still. Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1981. $5.95 ISBN: 1-88795-011-6.
The Unravelling. Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1986.

Gay Allison 109 Brunswick Street Stratford ON N5A 3L9 (519) 271-4546
allisonpoet@hotmail.com
brunswik@stratford.webgate.net

Poet in the School
(Stratford)

phone: 519-271-4546

Allison is a poet, editor and English teacher. She has a special interest in exploring the ancestral memory of women, ancient archetypes and contemporary relationships. Her poems of love, death, birth and regeneration, question today's world. She is the Founding Editor of Fireweed, a feminist journal, and was the fiction editor of Canadian Forum for six years. She has taught E.S.L., and has read at universities, colleges, libraries and art galleries across Canada. Her first book, Life: Still, won the Ontario Teachers' Federation Award for Poetry in 1982. The Unravelling, her second book of poetry, was nominated for the Pat Lowther award in 1987. A book of poetry for children is forthcoming.

Grade Levels: 6 - OAC

Fees: standard

Classroom Approach:
She begins each session by talking about the creative process and reading several of her poems. She often uses diaries and journals to involve the students and encourages them to write their own poems. Allison brings a display of different types of poetry books and hopes students will be interested in publishing their own work in a variety of formats. She provides opportunities for students to ask questions and discuss concerns, and will hold blue-pencil workshops and evaluate manuscripts if given advance notice.