Photo Credit:
Photo credit
D. R. Cowles
Robyn Sarah
BIO
Biography

Robyn Sarah was born in New York City to Canadian parents and has lived for most of her life in Montreal. Following studies in music at the Conservatoire du Quebec, and philosophy and English at McGill University, she taught English for 20 years at Champlain College in St. Lambert, Quebec.  Founder (with Fred Louder) of Villeneuve Publications, a Montreal small press that operated from 1976 to 1987, she co-edited its poetry chapbook series and a few issues each of two literary magazines. Her poems, stories, and essays have appeared widely in Canada and the United States.  Author of several poetry collections, two collections of short stories, a book of essays on poetry, and a memoir about music in her life, she served as poetry editor for Cormorant Books from 2010 to 2020.  Her 2015 collection of poems, My Shoes Are Killing Me, won the Governor General's Award for poetry.

ADDRESS
City: Montreal, Province/Territory: Quebec
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS
Publications
Title
Music, Late and Soon (nonfiction: memoir)
Publisher
Biblioasis
Year
2021
Title
Mes Souliers me font mourir (poems in French translation). Translated by Rémi Labrecque
Publisher
Les Éditions du Noroît
Year
2019
Title
Wherever We Mean to Be: Selected Poems, 1975-2015
Publisher
Biblioasis
Year
2017
Title
My Shoes Are Killing Me
Publisher
Biblioasis
Year
2015
Title
Digressions: Prose Poems, Collage Poems, and Sketches
Publisher
Fizhenry & Whiteside
Year
2012
Title
Pause for Breath (poems)
Publisher
Biblioasis
Year
2009
Title
Le tamis des jours (Poèmes choisis). Translated by Marie Frankland
Publisher
Les Éditions du Noroît
Year
2007
Title
Little Eurekas: A Decade's Thoughts on Poetry (essays)
Publisher
Biblioasis
Year
2007
Title
A Day's Grace (poems)
Publisher
The Porcupine's Quill
Year
2003
Title
Questions About The Stars (poems)
Publisher
Brick Books
Year
1998
Title
Promise of Shelter (short stories)
Publisher
The Porcupine's Quill
Year
1997
Title
A Nice Gazebo (short stories)
Publisher
Véhicule Press
Year
1992
Title
The Touchstone: Poems New and Selected
Publisher
Anansi
Year
1992
Title
Undercurrents: New Voices in Canadian Poetry (selection, introduction)
Publisher
Cormorant Books
Year
2011
Title
The Essential Margaret Avison (selection, introduction, biography, bibliography)
Publisher
The Porcupine’s Quill
Year
2010
Title
The Essential Don Coles (selection, introduction, biography, bibliography)
Publisher
The Porcupine’s Quill
Year
2009
Title
The Essential George Johnston (selection, introduction, biography, bibliography)
Publisher
The Porcupine’s Quill
Year
2010
AWARDS
Awards
Name
Governor General's Award for poetry
Year
2015
Name
Canadian Jewish Literary Award for poetry
Year
2015
Name
National Magazine Awards, fiction category
Year
1993
Name
CBC Literary Competition, poetry category
Year
1989
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
Programs & Interests
Interested in participating Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program:
All members are eligible for the Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program. Are you interested in participating in this pro
Yes
Interested in participating in the Northern Ontario WITS program:
The Union’s Northern Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program funds in-person visits to northern Ontario schools when possible. Ar
No