Fern G. Z. Carr

Last updated
Fern G. Z. Carr
Fern G Z Carr.jpg
Born1956 (age 66–67)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
OccupationPoet, writer, translator, teacher, lawyer
LanguageEnglish, French, Spanish, Yiddish, Italian, Mandarin
Alma mater University of Manitoba;
Collège Universitaire de Saint-Boniface
Period1978 - present
GenrePoetry
Notable worksShards of Crystal; I Am
Notable awardsGoing to Mars with MAVEN; Poem of the Month for Canada
Website
ferngzcarr.com

Fern G. Z. Carr is a contemporary Canadian poet and writer who resides in Kelowna, British Columbia. A full member of the League of Canadian Poets, Fern G. Z. Carr is the author of Shards of Crystal (Silver Bow Publishing, 2018). [1] She is a former lawyer, teacher, and past president of both the Kelowna branch of the BC Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Project Literacy Central Okanagan Society. Carr composes and translates poetry in six languages, including Mandarin. [2]

Contents

Published over seven hundred times worldwide, Fern G. Z. Carr also curates her own YouTube Channel. Her channel includes poetry, writing, language, and teaching resources. [3]

One of Carr's poems is currently orbiting the planet Mars aboard NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. [4]

Personal life and education

Fern G. Z. Carr was born in 1956 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Carr attended the University of Manitoba where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) and her Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB). She received her Call to the Bar from the Law Society of Manitoba. After briefly practising law, Carr decided to pursue her interest in languages. She enrolled at le Collège Universitaire de Saint-Boniface where she received her Certificat en Éducation and was the recipient of the Manitoba Government Book Prize for highest standing in her program. [5] She subsequently taught French Immersion before moving to Kelowna with her family in 1999. She is married and is the sister-in-law of the late Jim Carr, former Member of Parliament and cabinet minister. She is also the aunt of Ben Carr, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre. [6]

Writing style and influences

Carr's early poetry from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s is more representative of traditional meter and rhyme. She subsequently began to experiment with different forms and styles while continuing to compose traditional poetry in set forms such as pantoum and ghazal. An admirer of Emily Dickinson, Carr liked the use of em dashes and often incorporated them into her poems. In the 2000s, Carr's poetry style became more eclectic as she experimented with design. This was particularly evident in her visual and concrete poetry as well as in her experimental math / science poems such as "The Fickle Nature of the Parabola" [7] and "Holocaust Genealogy". [8] To date, her stylistic focus is free verse.

While Carr's poetry primarily is written in English, she also composes poems in French, Spanish, Italian, Yiddish and the Chinese Mandarin dialect. Even though she occasionally translates the works of other poets, she tends to focus on bilingual and trilingual side-by-side translations of her own poetry.

Many of Carr's poems were influenced by her early years in Winnipeg's West End where she bore witness to poverty and crime. While this darkness is evident in some of her poetry, she also composes poems which evoke a diverse array of human emotions.

Shards of Crystal

Shards of Crystal reflects a dichotomy and as such, is described as a metamorphosis of darkness to light. Dealing with issues such as suicide, trauma, dementia, cruelty to animals, and the death of a child, the book then gradually changes course. It begins its transformative move towards the beauty of life with poems about musicality, spiritual liberation and the philosophy of existence. It culminates in a philosophical examination of mankind's place in the universe with Carr's signature poem, "I Am". [9]

The imagery in Shards of Crystal parallels the darkness-to-light chronology of Carr's poems. This transition is essentially a redemptive move both literally and metaphorically, reconciling the pain of "Shards" at the outset of the book with the beauty and enlightenment of "Crystal" at the conclusion. Beginning with the darkness of night and becoming progressively lighter, her poems ultimately achieve the illumination of the eternal. This is in keeping with the overarching theme of hope as expressed by the Victor Hugo quote at the start of the book: "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." [10]

Publications

Carr has been published extensively worldwide in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte Island, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Scotland, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, USA and Wales.

Books

Online

Selected anthologies

Selected journals

Literary nonfiction

Selected awards and honours

Interviews and articles

Whole Terrain, the environmental literary journal of Antioch University (Keene, NH, USA) featured an author profile with Carr. The poet was questioned as to her reflective environmental practices and how they related to her poetry. [22]

Bill Arnott, the curator of Artist Showcase, conducted a lighthearted interview with Fern G. Z. Carr which was also subsequently featured in The Miramichi Reader. [23]

Goodreads posted an Ask the Author series of questions to Fern G. Z. Carr. Topics included: source of ideas for her book, inspiration, current projects, advice for aspiring writers, the best thing about being a writer and dealing with writer's block. [24]

Thomas Whyte curates a series of interviews with poets entitled poetry mini interviews. Fern G. Z. Carr was chosen to be one of these featured poets. She was the subject of a series of six weekly interviews to discuss her thoughts about poetry and her work. [25]

Kelowna Now - In Focus did an extensive feature interview about Carr's life, writing career and achievements. [26]

CBC Radio One (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) host Sarah Penton invited Carr to do a special guest segment on her Radio West show. [27]

University of Winnipeg - P.I. New Poetry on CKUW 95.9 FM.

Poet, Marissa Bell Toffoli, interviewed Fern G. Z. Carr on Words with Writers W³ Sidecar. She interviewed Carr about her poetry writing and revision practices. [28]

Ryerson University's (Toronto ON, Canada) online newspaper, The Eye Opener, published an article entitled "Beyond the White Wall." It included references to Carr's multiple contributions to their journal, The White Wall Review. [29]

Subsequent to Carr having been included in a database project [16] in conjunction with research conducted by West Virginia University law professor, Dr. James R. Elkins, The Globe and Mail featured Fern G. Z. Carr in their online arts section. [18]

Related Research Articles

Di Brandt often stylized as di brandt, is a Canadian poet and scholar from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She became Winnipeg's first Poet Laureate in 2018.

Dennis Cooley is a Canadian writer of poetry and criticism, a retired university professor, and a vital figure in the evolution of the prairie long poem. He was raised on a farm near the small city of Estevan, Saskatchewan in Canada, and currently resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Catherine Hunter is a Canadian poet, novelist, editor, professor, and critic.

Miriam Waddington was a Canadian poet, short story writer and translator. She was part of a Montreal literary circle that included F. R. Scott, Irving Layton and Louis Dudek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Livesay</span> Canadian poet

Dorothy Kathleen May Livesay, was a Canadian poet who twice won the Governor General's Award in the 1940s, and was "senior woman writer in Canada" during the 1970s and 1980s.

Anne Szumigalski, SOM was a Canadian poet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheri-D Wilson</span> Canadian poet, spoken word artist, educator, speaker, producer and activist

Sheri-D Wilson, CM D. Litt, is a Canadian poet, spoken word artist, educator, speaker, producer and activist.

Heather Spears was a Canadian-born poet, novelist, artist, sculptor, and educator. She resided in Denmark from 1962 until her death in Copenhagen in 2021. She returned to Canada annually to conduct speaking and reading tours and to teach drawing and head-sculpting workshops. She published eleven collections of poetry, five novels, and three volumes of drawings. She specialized in drawing premature infants and "infants in crisis".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenard Moore</span> American writer

Lenard Duane Moore in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He is a writer of more than 20 forms of poetry, drama, essays, and literary criticism, and has been writing and publishing haiku for more than 20 years.

Alison Calder is a Canadian poet, literary critic and educator.

Maurice Mierau is an American-Canadian writer of non-fiction and poetry. Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Mierau grew up in Nigeria, Manitoba, Jamaica, Kansas and Saskatchewan and has a Mennonite background. Mierau currently lives with his family in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was president of the League of Canadian Poets from 2006-2008. Mierau holds an MA in English Literature from the University of Manitoba.

Eleonore Schönmaier is a Canadian poet and fiction writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Annharte Baker</span> Canadian poet and author

Marie Annharte Baker is a Canadian Anishnabe (Ojibwa) poet and author, a cultural critic and activist, and a performance artist/contemporary storyteller. Former surnames are Baker and Funmaker.

Katherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. Vermette is of Métis descent and originates from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was an MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurent Poliquin</span>

Laurent Poliquin is a Franco-Manitoban poet, visual artist, educator and a community activist. He is a member of the Green Party of Canada.

Rosanna Deerchild is a Canadian Cree writer, poet and radio host. She is best known as host of the radio program Unreserved on CBC Radio One, a show that shares the music, cultures, and stories from indigenous people across Canada, from 2014 to 2020. With CBC Radio One, she has hosted two other shows; The (204) and the Weekend Morning Show. She has also appeared on CBC Radio's DNTO. She has been on various other media networks: APTN, Global Television Network, and Native Communications (NCI-FM).

Ruth Collie, née Ruth Jacobs, was an English-born poet who started her writing career in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was also known under her pen names Wilhelmina Stitch and Sheila Rand.

Juliane Okot Bitek, also known as Otoniya J. Okot Bitek, is a Kenyan-born Ugandan-raised diasporic writer and academic, who lives, studies and works in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is perhaps best-known for her poetry book 100 Days, a reflection on the 100-day 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu people were killed. She has been a contributor to several anthologies, including in 2019 New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent, edited by Margaret Busby.

ruth weiss (beat poet) German-U.S. poet, playwright, performer and artist (1928–2020)

ruth weiss, born Ruth Elisabeth Weisz, was a poet, performer, playwright and artist. Born in Germany, but of Austrian citizenship, weiss made her home and career in the United States. She was considered to be a member of the Beat Generation, a label she, in later years, embraced.

Sarah Ens is a Canadian poet and editor from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

References

  1. ↑ Shards of Crystal: Amazon.ca: Fern G. Z. Carr: Books. ASIN   1927616964.
  2. ↑ "Fern G. Z. Carr". Ferngzcarr.com. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "Fern G. Z. Carr - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "MAVEN » Public voting opens on MAVEN haiku contest". Lasp.colorado.edu. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  5. ↑ The University of Manitoba 104th Annual Convocation. 1983.
  6. ↑ https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/ben-carr(115744). Retrieved on: September 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Carr, Fern G. Z. (Fall 2010). "The Fickle Nature of the Parabola". Windsor Review. 43 (2): 128.
  8. ↑ Carr, Fern G. Z. (July 2016). "Holocaust Genealogy". Mgversion2. 85: 84.
  9. 1 2 "The Parliamentary Poet Laureate". Bdp.parl.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  10. ↑ Hugo, Victor (1987). Les Misérables . Signet Classics. ISBN   9780451525260.
  11. ↑ "I Brought Flowers to the Stroke Ward by Fern G. Z. Carr – League of Canadian Poets". Poets.ca. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  12. ↑ Journal, Antarctica (10 December 2018). "Poem - Why Are the Dead So Still (By Fern G. Z. Carr)". Antarctica Journal. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  13. ↑ https://issuu.com/fbcw/docs/wordworks_2020_vii (April 30, 2020): 12-13. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  14. ↑ Mulligan, Diane Vanaskie. "Pushcart Nominees". Theworcesterreview.org. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  15. ↑ "Poems 2014 by country (selected by the judges)". Benvenuti su amicidiguidogozzano!. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  16. 1 2 "World--Lawyer Poets". Lawlit.net. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  17. ↑ "Fern G. Z. Carr". ABC BookWorld. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  18. 1 2 "Kudos to Fern G. Z. Carr, poet lawyer". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  19. ↑ "SIPAY" (PDF). Sipayrevue.files.wordpress.com (12th ed.). Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  20. ↑ "Poetry as Compact Storytelling". Daily Courier. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  21. ↑ "Get Volinspired! - Get Involved". Castanet.net. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  22. ↑ "Metamorphosis author profile: Fern G.Z. Carr". Wholeterrain.com. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  23. ↑ "Bill Arnott's Showcase Interview: Fern G. Z. Carr". miramichireader.ca. 27 February 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Fern G.Z. Carr answers your questions — Ask the Author". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  25. ↑ "poetry mini interviews". Poetryminiiterviews.blogspot.com. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  26. ↑ "In Focus | Fern G. Z. Carr". Kelownanow.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-04-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. ↑ "Q&A With Writer Fern G Z Carr". 3sidecar.tumblr.com. 5 July 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Behind the White Wall". The Eyeopener. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.