Maria Jacobs

Maria Jacobs was born in the Netherlands, moved to New York City, and two years later came to Toronto at the age of 24. She was educated at York University, and holds a B.A. in Mathematics and an M.A. in English. For six years she managed the Axle-Tree Coffee House in Toronto, and for several years was associate editor of Waves. After this she became literary editor of Canadian Woman Studies / Les cahiers de la femme, and for ten years published and edited the monthly Poetry Toronto until its demise in 1989. She was president of the League of Canadian Poets from 1990 to 1992, and editor of the League's Museletter from 1993 to 1995. She is assistant editor at the genetics journal Genome, and together with Heather Cadsby, is a co-founder and co-publisher/editor of Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Ltd.

Selected Publications
Precautions Against Death. (Mosaic Press, 1983).
With Other Words: A Bilingual Anthology of Contemporary Dutch Poetry by Women. (Editor). (Netherlandic Press, 1985).
What Feathers Are For. (Mosaic Press, 1985).
Iseult, We Are Barren. (Netherlandic Press, 1987).
Dutch Gifts: Stories and Poems and Creative Non-fiction on a Netherlandic Theme. (Editor). (Netherlandic Press, 1991).

Selected Anthologies
The Third Taboo. A Collection of Poems on Jealousy. (Wolsak and Wynn, 1983).
Relations: Family Portraits. (Mosaic Press, 1986).
Arrivals: Canadian Poets in the Eighties. (Greenfield Review, 1986).

Books in Print
Jacobs, Maria
Dutch Gifts: Stories and Poems and Creative Non-fiction on a Netherlandic Theme (editor). Netherlandic Press, 1991. $9.95 ISBN: 0-919417-23-X.
Iseult, We Are Barren. Netherlandic Press, 1987. $9.95 ISBN: 0-919417-11-6.
Precautions Against Death. Mosaic Press, 1983. $12.95 ISBN: 0-88962-210-8 (hb); $9.95 ISBN: 0-88962-209-4 (pb).
The Third Taboo: A Collection of Poems on Jealousy (co-editor). Wolsak and Wynn, 1983. $10.00 ISBN: 0-919897-00-2.
What Feathers Are For. Mosaic Press, 1985. $8.95 ISBN: 0-88962-306-6.
With Other Words: A Bilingual Anthology of Contemporary Dutch Poetry by Women (editor). Netherlandic Press, 1985. $9.95 ISBN: 0-919417-07-8.

Maria Jacobs, 186-B Seaton St, Toronto ON, M5A 2T4,
Cell: 416 994 6883 / Office tel: 416 603 3085 / fax: 416 603 9935 /
e-mail: jacobsmaria@hotmail.com

 

Poet in the School
(Toronto)

phone: Cell:  416 994 6883 / Office tel:  416 603 3085 / fax:  416 603 9935 /
jacobsmaria@hotmail.com

Jacobs is a poet, translator, editor, and publisher. She recollects her childhood in Holland during WWII in Precautions Against Death, an account in prose and poetry of sheltering Jewish compatriots from the Nazis. She has given readings from this book in secondary schools to students who had studied The Diary of Anne Frank, providing complementary insight into the plight of rescued and rescuer. Her other books include What Feathers Are For, and Iseult, We Are Barren, which contains a sequence of poems retelling the old romance of Tristan, Iseult, and King Mark of Cornwall in contemporary language, giving voice and relevance to each of the three main characters.

Grade Levels: 7 - OAC

Fees: standard

Classroom Approach:
Students need not have read Jacobs' work but should be willing to respond to the idea of using experience for writing poetry. The teacher might read two or three poems from one of the Jacobs' books prior to the visit, so that students are prepared to ask questions and discuss. Length of session may vary, according to age, and should be determined beforehand. If Precautions Against Death is to be the focus of the reading, familiarity with Anne Frank's diary is helpful.