Suzanne Rancourt Explained

Suzanne S. Rancourt (born 1959) is a poet and veteran of both the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army as well being an Abenaki and Huron descendant.^{[1] [2]} She was born and raised in west central Maine.^[3] She has written a collection of poetry called Billboard in the Clouds, which won the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas First Book Award in 2001, and some of her other work also appears in The Journal of Military Experience, Volume II. Her work has also been published in the literary journals Callaloo and The Cimarron Review, as well as many other anthologies.^[4]

Rancourt has a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry from Vermont College and a Master of Science in Educational Psychology from University at Albany, SUNY. She is currently living in Hadley, New York.^[5] Rancourt has coordinated powwows.^[6] She has worked as a counselor for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in New York^[7] and has also worked as a parent education specialist for a Head Start program in the northern part of the state. Among other things, Rancourt is also a singer/songwriter, a personal fitness trainer, a percussionist, an herbal educator, and a dance instructor.

Work

Rancourt's poems have been praised for their vivid imagery and simple, elegant style. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in many journals, including Peauxdunque Review, MacQueen's Quinterly, The Massachusetts Review, Turtle Island Quarterly, New Feathers Anthology, Eastern Iowa Review, The Brooklyn Review, Aji Magazine, Nine Muses Poetry, the Journal of Military Experience, Cimarron Review, Callaloo, and others.^[8]

Her first published collection of poetry was titled Billboard in the Clouds published by Curbstone Press. It addresses at least three themes: poems about childhood include descriptions of nature, her parents, and grandparents; ancestral poems cover stories Rancourt has heard conveying deep connections between her people and their land; and poems about contemporary life cover such topics as Rancourt's life with her son, her current home, and her military experience.

Her second poetry collection was the 2017 publication murmurs at the gate, in which she explored, using fictional events and others from her own life, the lives and experiences of people who survived different forms of hardship.^[9]

Awards

• 2001, Native Writers' Circle of the Americas First Book Award

Publications

• Book: Rancourt, Suzanne S. . Whose Mouth Do I Speak With? . Poetry in Three Dimensions: Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking Through Poetry . Book 2 . 2001 . Educators Pub Service . 0838823688 . 54 . Clark, Carol.
• Book: Rancourt, Suzanne S. . Billboard in the Clouds . Willimantic, CT . . 2004 . 1-931896-08-9 .
• Rancourt . Suzanne . Fanning Fire . Saranac Review . 2 . 2006 . 66–67.
• Rancourt . Suzanne . Singing Across the River . Saranac Review . 2 . 2006 . 66–67.
• Rancourt . Suzanne . Ghost Nets, The Hunt, Tsunami Conflict, Visions of Clara, and Throwing Stars . The Journal of Military Experience . 2012 . 2 . 2.
• Rancourt . Suzanne . Rear Support . O-Dark-Thirty . November 12, 2012 .
• Rancourt . Suzanne . When the Wind Stops, Ghost Nets, Not Tonight, and The Edge . Ginosko Literary Journal . 2012 . 11 . 22–26 . 2015-03-24.
• Book: Rancourt, Suzanne S. . Murmurs at the gate . Portland . OR Unsolicited Press . 2019 . 978-1-947021-92-1.
• Book: Rancourt, Suzanne . Native Voices Indigenous American Poetry, Craft and Conversations . Fuhrman, C Marie . Rader, Dean . Tupelo Press . 2019 . 978-1-947021-92-1 . 270.

Further reading

Reviews

• News: Archuleta . Elizabeth . Billboard In The Clouds (review) . World Literature Today . 80 . 3 . May–Jun 2006 . 74.
• News: Birns . Nicholas . The Other East Coast . American Book Review . 26 . 3 . Mar–Apr 2005 . 17–20.
• News: Kennedy . Pat . Billboard in the Clouds (review) . . 20 . 2 . 2008 . 117–119.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Suzanne S. Rancourt, Poet, Fiction Writer, Creative Nonfiction Writer . 10 February 2019 . Poets and Writers Magazine . 18 June 2021.
2. Book: Erdrich, Heid Ellen . Tohe, Laura . Sister Nations: Native American Women Writers on Community . 2002 . Minnesota Historical Society . 0-87351-428-9.
3. Archuleta . Elizabeth . Billboard in the Clouds (review) . World Literature Today . May–Jun 2006. 80 . 3 . 74 . 10.2307/40159110. 40159110 .
4. Web site: Suzanne Rancourt . PW.org . Poets & Writers . 2015-03-24.
5. Birns . Nicholas . Nicholas Birns . The Other East Coast . American Book Review . Mar–Apr 2005 . 26 . 3 . 17–20.
6. News: Keyser . Tom . Even in the heat, celebration: Native American heritage group holds powwow at sweltering Route 5S site . . Albany, NY . July 18, 2010.
7. Book: Rancourt, Suzanne . Billboard in the Clouds . 2004 . Curbstone Books . Willimantic, CT . 1-931896-089 . 68 .
8. Web site: Suzanne S. Rancourt . PW.org . 10 February 2019 . Poets & Writers . 22 October 2020.
9. Web site: murmurs at the gate . UnsolicitedPress.com . Unsolicited Press . 22 October 2020.