Penn Kemp

Last updated
Penn Kemp
BornPatricia Penn Anne Kemp
1944 (age 78–79)
Strathroy, Ontario
OccupationPoet and playwright
Education
Years active1972—pres.
Website
pennkemp.weebly.com

Patricia Penn Anne Kemp (born 1944), better known simply as Penn Kemp, is a Canadian poet, novelist, playwright, and sound poet who lives in London, Ontario. [1] Kemp has been publishing her writing since 1972 and was London's first poet laureate, serving since 2010 to 2013.

Contents

Early life and education

Kemp was born on August 4, 1944, in Strathroy, Ontario, to parents Anne Kemp and James "Jim" Kemp. She was raised in the nearby city of London. [1] [2] Her father was an advertising and publicity executive at London Life, painter, and war artist. [3] [4] [5] Penn says she wrote her first poem when she was six years old. [6]

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and literature from the University of Western Ontario in 1966 and received certification as a teacher in 1968. [7] [1] In 1988 she received an Ontario Graduate Scholarship to complete a Masters of Education degree at the University of Toronto. [1]

Career

Kemp taught high school English in Timmins and North York, Toronto for several years.

Kemp's first book, Bearing Down, was published by Coach House in 1972. In 1973, it was performed as a radio show for four voices in Seattle. [6] In 1984, Kemp was writer in residence for Niagara Erie Writers in New York State; for the Labrador School Board in 1986; for Flesherton Library in 1988 and '89; and at SNDT Women's University in Mumbai in 1995. [1] In 1994, Kemp's play, What the Ear Hears Last, was produced by Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto and, in the same year, she was featured on the CBC Radio show, "Sounding Off." [1] In 1995 the Indian Institute of Canadian studies sponsored her tour of Mumbai colleges and universities. [1]

She was London's inaugural Poet Laureate, [8] serving from 2010 to 2013 [9] and University of Western Ontario's Writer-in-Residence (2009-2010). [10] Kemp runs Pendas Productions. [2]

In 2021, Kemp was commissioned by Brescia University College to deliver their inaugural Women's Day Poem. During the university's fourth annual Dr. Colleen Hanycz Leadership Lecture, Kemp performed her poem "Choose to Challenge" as a riff on the theme, "Choose To Challenge: Finding Common Ground Through Dialogue." [11]

Personal life

Kemp's left London, Ontario after graduating from Western University. She returned in 2001 and her mother had a stroke. [12] She now lives in London and considers it her home. [13] Her husband, Gavin Stairs, developed vascular dementia [14] and died in fall 2021. [15]

Works

Theater

Individual poems

Poetry collections

Recordings

As editor

Other works

Awards

In 2012, Kemp was awarded the League of Canadian Poets’ Life Membership Award. [2] Kemp received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 for her service to the arts. [32] [33] In 2015, the League of Canadian Poets awarded Kemp the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award, which honoured her as a spoken-word poet. [34]

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.

The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual Canadian literary award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman. The award was established in 1980 to honour poet Pat Lowther, who was murdered by her husband in 1975. Each winner receives an honorarium of $1000.

The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert. Each winner receives an honorarium of $1000.

Judith Ariana Fitzgerald was a Canadian poet and journalist. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she attended York University. She authored over twenty books of poetry, as well as biographies of musician Sarah McLachlan and Marshall McLuhan. She died in her home in Northern Ontario, at the age of 63.

Susan McMaster is a Canadian poet, literary editor, performance poet, and former president of the League of Canadian Poets (2011–12).

Robert Sward was an American and Canadian poet and novelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Reaney</span> Canadian poet, playwright, librettist and professor

James Crerar Reaney, was a Canadian poet, playwright, librettist, and professor, "whose works transform small-town Ontario life into the realm of dream and symbol." Reaney won Canada's highest literary award, the Governor General's Award, three times and received the Governor General's Awards for Poetry or Drama for both his poetry and his drama.

The Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate is the national poet laureate of Canada. The current poet laureate is Marie-Célie Agnant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Peacock</span> American poet

Molly Peacock is an American-Canadian poet, essayist, biographer and speaker, whose multi-genre literary life also includes memoir, short fiction, and a one-woman show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Outram</span> Canadian poet

Richard Daley Outram was a Canadian poet. Often regarded as a poet's poet, he wrote eleven commercially published books of poetry in addition to the many collections of his poetry and prose published under the imprint of the Gauntlet Press. In 1999 he won the City of Toronto Book Award for his sequence of poems Benedict Abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Francis (writer)</span> Canadian writer (born 1971)

Brian Francis is a Canadian writer best known for his 2004 debut novel Fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum London</span> Art and history museum in London, Ontario

Museum London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and London Regional Historical Museum in 1989. The current building is designed by Raymond Moriyama, architect of Science North in Greater Sudbury, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, and the National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.

Joseph Rosenblatt was a Canadian poet who lived in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. He won Canada's Governor-General's Award and British Columbia's B.C. Book Prize for poetry. He was also a talented artist, whose "line drawings, paintings, and sketches often illustrate his own and other poets’ books of poetry."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micheline Maylor</span> Canadian poet and academic

Micheline Maylor is a Canadian poet, academic, critic and editor.

Canisia Lubrin is a writer, critic, professor, poet and editor. Originally from St. Lucia, Lubrin now lives in Whitby, Ontario, Canada.

Colleen Thibaudeau was a Canadian poet and short-story writer. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she began writing poetry for a number of magazines under the pseudonym M. Morris in the 1950s to the 1960s before going to publish eight books during the 1960s to the 1990s. The League of Canadian Poets established an literary award in Thibaudeau's name and a play set to music based on her words was staged in London, Ontario in March 2013.

This is a list of municipal poets laureate in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Eli Baxter is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction at the 2022 Governor General's Awards for his memoir Aki-wayn-zih: A Person as Worthy as the Earth.

Nelson Ball was a Canadian poet, editor, publisher, and bookseller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Garebian</span>

Keith Garebian is a Canadian critic, biographer, and poet. He was born in Bombay, India, to an Armenian father and Anglo-Indian mother, and immigrated to Canada in 1961. He got his PhD from Queen's University on Canadian and Commonwealth Literature. He has taught part-time at McGill University, Concordia University and Trent University. He has won awards for his poetry and writing, including the 2014 Poetry Award of the Surrey International Writers Conference, and the 2013 Saroyan Medal for cultural contributions by the Armenian diaspora. He is a four-time winner for the Mississauga Art Award for Writing.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Penn Kemp: Biography". Canadian Poetry Online. University of Toronto Libraries. 2000. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Haas, Kelsey (2018). "Western Archives Finding Aid for Penn Kemp fonds" (PDF). Western University. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  3. ↑ Brown, Dan (2022-01-28). "Tony Urquhart left indelible mark on London's art scene". London Free Press. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  4. 1 2 Curnoe, Lynda (December 2022). "Review: George the Purple Spotted Horse: A Graphic Tale". Pouch Cove. 8 (2): 9. ProQuest   215229631 – via ProQuest.
  5. 1 2 Belanger, Joe (2018-05-01). "Poet celebrates London's cultural heroes in new book". London Free Press. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Mockler, Kathryn (2012-07-28). "Penn Kemp: Performance Poet, Activist, and Playwright". The Rusty Toque. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  7. ↑ Winders, Jason (2016-07-19). "Cull named Poet Laureate for London". Western News. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  8. ↑ Belanger, Joe (2020-04-11). "It's time to embrace London's poet laureate, Penn Kemp, and all artists". London Free Press. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  9. ↑ Jennifer Sproul (October 2010). "Introducing London's First Poet Laureate: Penn Kemp". The Londoner. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  10. ↑ "Former Writers-in-Residence" . Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. ↑ Belanger, Joe (2021-03-05). "London poet Penn Kemp marks Women's Day with call to action". London Free Press. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  12. ↑ Montanini, Chris (2021-04-27). "Latest work from poet Penn Kemp published by Stratford micropress Beliveau Books". The Londoner. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  13. ↑ Buechler, Steven (2016-08-21). ""What made me a poet? Curiosity. The thrill of adventure, of new worlds." | Q&A with poet Penn Kemp". The Library of Pacific Tranquility. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  14. ↑ Belanger, Joe (2021-09-03). "Our poet laureate's financial plight, and a call to help". London Free Press. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  15. ↑ "PENN KEMP". PENN KEMP. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  16. 1 2 Meyer, Sean (2013-08-29). "Former poet laureate gives insight into Eldon House history". InsideHalton.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  17. ↑ von Flotow, Luise (2006). "Feminism in Translation: the Canadian Factor" (PDF). Quaderns. Revista de traducció (13).
  18. ↑ Montanini, Chris (2016-10-28). "Penn Kemp as barbarian". The Londoner. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  19. ↑ deRango Adem, Adebe (2016-12-06). "Review: Barbaric Cultural Practice". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  20. 1 2 Lederman, Marsha (2021-01-22). "Independent publisher Insomniac Press cancels 12 book deals". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  21. ↑ Belanger, Joe (2019-10-30). "London poet helps explore identity at Wordsfest". London Free Press. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  22. ↑ Chan, Sunny (2019). "Rewilding Poetry". Canadian Literature (238): 151, 183. ProQuest   2306205380 – via ProQuest.
  23. ↑ Howell, Stevie (2018-11-22). "Review: Fox Haunts". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  24. ↑ Wenn, Jennifer (2022-06-26). "P.S. by Penn Kemp and Sharon Thesen". The Miramichi Reader. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  25. ↑ Fretwell, Katerina. "Review: A Near Memoir: New Poems by Penn Kemp". League of Canadian Poets. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  26. ↑ Belanger, Joe (2021-05-01). "Poet Penn Kemp celebrates growing up in London in new book of verse". London Free Press. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  27. ↑ Stioski, Richard-Yves (Summer 2021). "Memoria Tenere: Penn Kemp's A Near Memoir: New Poems" (PDF). Sage-ing (37): 25–27.
  28. ↑ Belanger, Joe (2013-05-20). "London launch of the book, Jack Layton: Art in Action, edited with contributions by Londoner Penn Kemp and published by Quattro Books Inc. of Toronto". Calgary Herald . Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  29. ↑ "JACK LAYTON: ART IN ACTION". London Free Press. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  30. 1 2 Belanger, Joe (2016-11-23). "Literary events feature poems, wartime letters". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  31. ↑ Lederman, Marsha (2022-06-17). "Ukrainian art in Canada reflects the war and our responses to it". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  32. ↑ Robertson, Becky (2015-04-01). "League of Canadian Poets 2015 awards finalists revealed". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  33. ↑ "And the winners are . . ". London Free Press. 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  34. ↑ Tobias, Conan (2015-06-03). "League of Canadian Poets announces annual award winners". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
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.