Gay Allison Explained

Gay Allison
Birth Date:	1953
Birth Place:	Saskatchewan, Canada
Occupation:	Poet, Editor, English Teacher

Gay Allison (born 1953) is a Canadian poet, editor, and English teacher. She was the fiction editor of The Canadian Forum, poetry editor of Waves, founding editor of a feminist journal, Fireweed,^[1] co-editor of Landscape,^[2] and founding member of the Women's Writing Collective of Toronto. Additionally, Allison is an advisory board member of Tiger Lily, a journal by women of colour. Allison is also a full member of the League of Canadian Poets.^[3]

She was the recipient of the Poetry Award from the Federation of Women Teachers' Association of Ontario (FWTAO) in 1982 and 1986.^[4]

Early life

Allison was born in Saskatchewan. She has since lived in Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Work

Allison's poetry in The Unravelling, focuses on daily life "at a slow meditative pace."^[5]

Publications

Poetry

• Life: Still. (1981)^[6]
• In the Valley of the Butterflies (1981)
• The Unravelling (1986)^[7]
• "Iron Shirt Moves" (1988)^[8]

Anthologies

• Women and Words: The Anthology/Les femmes et les mots: Une anthologie (1984)^[9]
• Sp/Elles: Poetry by Canadian Women/Poésie de femmes canadiennes (1986)^[10]

Awards

• Federation of Women Teachers' Association of Ontario, Poetry Award, 1982, 1986.
• Tyrone Guthrie Award, Stratford Festival, 1997.

Notes and References

1. Book: Writing In Our Time: Canada's Radical Poetries in English (1957-2003). Butling. Pauline. Rudy. Susan. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 2009. 9780889205277.
2. Book: Landscape. Allison. Gay. Women's Writing Collective. 1977. 9780969068006. Toronto. Hood-Caddy. Karen. Rapoport. Janis.
3. Web site: Why The Poet Writes. 2006. Centre For Women's Studies in Education. University of Toronto. 27 February 2016.
4. Web site: Membee – Directory — Poets.ca. poets.ca. 2016-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20170415015155/http://poets.ca/membee-directory/#action=Listing&value=313&searchID=0&cid=1043&did=100. 2017-04-15. dead.
5. Hatch. Ronald B.. 1998. Poetry. University of Toronto Quarterly. 58. 1. 32–49. 10.3138/utq.58.1.32. 27 February 2016. subscription . Project MUSE.
6. Book: Allison, Gay. Life: Still.. Williams-Wallace International. 1981. 9780887950117. Toronto. registration.
7. Book: Gay, Allison. The Unravelling. Williams-Wallace. 1986. 9780887950605. Toronto.
8. Web site: Iron Shirt Moves. canlit.ca. 2016-02-24. Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review. 1988. 26–27.
9. Book: Women and words : the anthology = Les femmes et les mots : une anthologie. Harbour Pub. Co.. 1984. 9780920080535. Madeira Park, B.C.. registration.
10. Book: Allison, Gay. Sp/Elles: Poetry by Canadian Women/Poésie de femmes canadiennes. Black Moss Press. 1986. 9780887531514. Windsor, Ontario.