Stephanie Bolster was born and raised in Vancouver and now lives in Ottawa. Winner of the Bronwen Wallace Award in 1996, and the Governor General's Award for Poetry in 1998, she published her first collection, White Stone:The Alice Poems with Signal Editions (Véhicule Press) in Spring 1998. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of BC, participated in the Banff Writing Studios in 1994 and has published extensively in literary journals internationally. She teaches Creative Writing in schools and through the Ottawa-Carleton District School Boards Continuing Education Division.
Awards
Bronwen Wallace Award, 1996.
Norma Epstein Award for Creative Writing, 1993.
Governor General's Award for Poetry, 1998.
Selected Publications
Three Bloody Words (chapbook). (above/ground press (Ottawa), 1996).
Inside A Tent of Skin: 9 Poems from the National Gallery of Ottawa. (MotherTongue
Press, 1998).
White Stone: The Alice Poems. (Véhicule Editions, 1998).
Two Bowls of Milk. (McClelland & Stewart, 1999).
Selected Anthologies
Breathing Fire: Canada's New Poets. (Harbour Publishing, 1995).
A Room at the Heart of Things. (Vehicule, 1998).
We All Begin in a Little Magazine. (Arc, Carleton University Press, 1998).
Books in Print
Bolster, Stephanie
Inside a Tent of Skin. Mothertongue Press, 1998. ISBN 1-896949-08-8.
Three Bloody Words. (chapbook). Above/ground press, 1996. ISBN 0-9699636-2-9.
Two Bowls of Milk. McClelland & Stewart, 1999.
White Stone:The Alice Poems. Véhicule Press, 1998. $12 ISBN 1-55065-099-8.
Stephanie Bolster
sbolster@ca.inter.net
Poet in the School
(Ottawa)
phone: 613-747-9283
email: sbolster@ca.inter.net
Stephanie Bolster's first book, White Stone: the Alice Poems (Vehicule Press, 1998), explores Alice in (and out of) Wonderland and the real Alice Liddell who inspired her. Her Second, Two Bowls of Milk, is forthcoming from McClelland & Stewart in 1999. She has won the Bronwen Wallace Award (1996), The Malahat Review's long poem prize (1997), and Mother Tongue Press' national chapbook competition (1998). Her poetry has appeared in the anthology Breathing Fire: Canada's New Poets, on B.C. Transit, and in journals and anthologies internationally. She has given many poetry readings and also writes reviews, non-fiction, fiction, and children's literature. Bolster has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from UBC and has given writing workshops to children, adolescents, and adults. She currently teaches poetry and journal writing with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
Grade Levels: all
Fees: standard
Classroom Approach:
Bolster
encourages students to find inspiration and value in their own experiences and
interests, and above all, to enjoy reading and writing. In workshops, she offers
individual responses to all participants, balancing enthusiasm with constructive
criticism as appropriate to the student's age and ability. Students need not
be familiar with her work, though older groups may wish to look at White
Stone: The Alice Poems, which can be initiate a fruitful discussion of ëpoems
in character' and the poem series. Bolster can also read from her poems inspired
by visual art, then engage students in writing exercises involving art. Her
sessions are adaptable to class and instructor needs and interests -- she can
offer a basic "what is poetryî session, with examples from the work
of emerging and established poets; give a reading followed by a question-and-answer
session; facilitate workshops (based on writing submitted beforehand or on in-class
exercises); and/or instigate collaborative poems to involve even the most jaded
students.