Madeline Coopsammy was born in Trinidad. Her joie-de-vivre and curiosity would hold her in good stead throughout her life as a teacher, writer, volunteer, and parent. People were always drawn to her.
She won a scholarship to study at Delhi University, India, where she would earn her Bachelor of Arts (Honours). She then immigrated to Canada and got her Bachelor of Education at the University of Manitoba, before getting married and moving to Portage la Prairie, where she taught, raised her family, and was active with the Catholic Church and its choir.
Madeline went on to earn her Master of Education from the University of Manitoba and later taught grade three at Machray and Shaughnessy Park schools in Winnipeg, before retiring in 1996. She spent years as a volunteer with the Cari-Cana pavilion at Folklorama and the Thin Air writers festival. She was thrilled to be one of its featured authors in 2019.
A frequent book reviewer for the Winnipeg Free Press, Prairie Fire, and the Indo-Canadian Telegram, Madeline was passionate about reading books, writing, and storytelling. Her poetry and short stories have been published in anthologies and journals and studied at schools across North America. Her 2004 poetry collection, Prairie Journey, was followed up by a young adult novel, The Old Songs, released in 2019. It is a coming-of-age story set on a small multicultural British Caribbean island at the advent of independence.
Through her stories and poetry she tried to create a better understanding of the possibilities, challenges, and triumphs new immigrants face coming to Canada — but also the rich tapestry of experiences and culture they’ve helped weave into the fabric of the country today.
