About Susan Gillis
Hello!
I'm a Canadian poet, editor and manuscript mentor based in eastern Ontario, with roots in in Atlantic and western Canada and Montreal.
My work focuses on the intersections of mind, heart, and place, exploring the shifting rhythms of language and our precarious world. I've written several collections, including Yellow Crane (Brick Books) and my recent chapbook Last Winter (Baseline Press).
I am also a member of the collaborative poetry quartet Yoko's Dogs, and for a decade hosted dialogues on craft and form at Concrete & River.
Whether writing, editing, or mentoring, my practice centres on the art of careful listening and attentive revision.
A Deeper Look
My work has been shaped by the places I've called home. i've lived on Canada's Atlantic and pacific coasts, and spent many years along the St Lawrence River in Montreal. Today I live and write on Algonquin territory near Perth, Ontario. These landscapes, and the tension between natural ecologies and human structures, are grounding points of my poetry.
For many years, I shared my love for text and language as a professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at John Abbott College and Concordia University Montreal. My belief in poetry as conversation led to the formation of Yoko's Dogs, a creative collective alongside three peer poets. Together, we write poetry that challenges individual authorship and embraces the collaborative "extra" mind.
Selected CV
- Awards & Shortlists: Winner, Quebec Writers' Federations A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry (Volta), Finalist, Pat Lowther Memorial Award (Swimming Among the Ruins), Finalist, Association for Studies in Literature and the Environment Creative Writing Book Award (Yellow Crane), Finalist, A.M. Klein Prize (The Rapids)
- Published Collections: Yellow Crane (Brick Books), The Rapids (Brick Books), Volta (Signature Editions), Swimming Among the Ruins (Signature Editions)
- Recent Chapbooks: Last Winter (Baseline Press), Obelisk (Gaspereau Press)
- Collaborative Work (with Yoko's Dogs): Whisk, Rhinoceros, Caution Tape, Lunchbox Poems
- Editorial and Community Work: Founder and editor of the poetry dialogue blog Concrete & River; former co-editor of the online journal of micro-poetry HALIBUT
- Professional Memberships: The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC), Quebec Writers' Federation (QWF), Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS)
Contact me here for more info. I'd love to hear from you!
