Judith Fitzgerald. Courtesy Leonard Cohen Files.
Judith Ariana Fitzgerald (November 11, 1952 - November 23, 2015) was a Canadian poet and journalist.
Life[]
Youth and education[]
Fitzgerald was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of Marjorie Fitzgerald, a Grade 6 dropout who sometimes worked as a prostitute.[1]
Most of her siblings were given up for adoption; Judith used to forage scraps from behind the restaurants on Queen St. E. to feed them. When she was 7, the police temporarily removed her from her mother and stepfather and placed her with her grandparents; her arm had to be reset when it did not heal properly after her stepfather fractured it.[1]
She was reunited with her parents when they moved to Huntsville, Ontario. She recalls going to school, with just 1 dress to wear the entire year. When a teacher noticed, and bought her a new dress to wear on a class trip, her stepfather burnt it.[1]
Thanks to her teachers' intervention, she was made a Crown ward in 1966, when she was 13.[1]
She attended York University, where she earned both a B.A. and an M.A. She did her doctoral work at the University of Toronto.
Career[]
She published her debut collection of poetry, Octave, in 1970.
She was writer in residence at the University of Windsor, 1992-1994.[1]
She also worked as a biographer, ghost writer, and editor as well as writing on creative phenomena for both the Toronto Globe & Mail and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
She died at her home in Port Loring, in Northern Ontario's Almaguin Highlands.
Recognition[]
Given Names: New and selected poems (1985) won a Writers’ Choice Award, and was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award.[2]
Rapturous Chronicles (1991) was nominated for the Governor General's Award for English language poetry.[2]
River (1995) won the James McMaster Poetry Prize, and was shortlisted for the Trillium Award.[2]
Twenty-Six Ways out of This World (1999) was included among the 6 best poetry collections of the year published in English by the Globe & Mail.[2]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Octave. Toronto: Dreadnaught, [1970?]
- Victory. Toronto: Coach House, 1975.
- Lacerating Heartwood. Toronto: Coach House, 1977
- Easy Over. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1981.
- Split/Levels. Toronto: Coach House, 1983.
- The Syntax of Things. Toronto: Prototype, 1984.
- Heart Attack[s]. Canada: 1983.
- Beneath the Skin of Paradise: The Piaf poems. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1984.
- My Orange Gorange. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1985.
- Given Names: New and selected poems, 1972-1985 (edited by Frank Davey). Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1985.
- Whale Waddleby. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1986.
- Diary of Desire. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1987.
- Rapturous Chronicles. Stratford, ON: Mercury Press, 1991.
- Ultimate Midnight. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1992.
- Habit of Blues: Rapturous Chronicles II. Stratford, ON: Mercury Press, 1993.
- Walkin' Wounded. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1993.
- River. Toronto: ECW Press, 1995.
- 26 Ways Out of This World. Ottawa: Oberon Press, 1999.
- Adagios Quartet. Ottawa: Oberon Press
- Vol. I: Iphigenia's Song, 2003
- Vol. II: Orestes' Lament, 2004
- Vol. III: Electra's Benison, 2006
- Vol. IV: O, Clytaemnestra!, 2007
Non-fiction[]
- City Park. Agincourt, ON: Northern Concept Promotional Services, 1972.
- Building A Mystery: The story of Sarah McLachlan and Lilith Fair. Kingston, ON: Quarry Music Books, 1997.
- Marshall McLuhan: Wise guy. Montreal: XYZ, 2001.
Edited[]
- Un Dozen: Thirteen Canadian poets. Windsor, ON: Black Moss, 1982.
- SP/ELLES: Poetry by Canadian women. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1986.
- First Person Plural. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1988.
- Rob McLennan, Bagne; or, Criteria for heaven. Fredericton, NB: Broken Jaw Press, 2000.
Journals[]
- Journal Entries. Toronto: Dreadnaught Press, 1975.
"Orestes' Lament" by Judith Fitzgerald, recited by The Wordman
Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesy Brock University.[3]
See also[]
References[]
- Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. (edited by W.H. New). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002, 376.
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Judy Stoffman, "Judith Fitzgerald: Poet wrote with a dazzling voice of pain and passion, Globe & Mail, December 11, 2015. Web, Apr. 15, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Judith Fitzgerald, Talonbooks. Web, Sep. 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Judith Fitzgerald," Canadian Women Poets, BrockU.ca, Web, Apr. 27, 2011.
External links[]
- Poems
- "Ottawa" at Ottawa Poetry Newsletter
- A selection of poetry: Coda," "The Art of Spectacle," "Elegy Written in a December State of Mins," "Harmony of Moonlight"
- Audio / video
- Books
- Judith Fitzgerald at Amazon.com
- About
- Judith Fitzgerald in the Canadian Encyclopedia
- Judith Fitzgerald at Canadian Women Poets.
- Judith Fitzgerald's WriteSite Official website.
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