TransCanada Literary Reading & Performance Series










angela rawlings
Performance Colloquium
March 20, 2009, 5:00 - 7:00 PM
TransCanada Institute
9 University Ave.
Guelph, ON
angela rawlings
Angela Rawlings (known as a.rawlings) is a Canadian poet, editor, and multidisciplinary artist who has presented and/or published work in Canada, Belgium, Iceland, and the United States. Her poetry has been translated into French, Icelandic, Korean, and Spanish.
In 2001, Rawlings received the bpNichol Award for Distinction in Writing when she graduated from York University. Since then, she has worked with a variety of literary organizations, including The Mercury Press, The Scream Literary Festival, Sumach Press, Word: Canada's Magazine for Readers + Writers, and The Lexiconjury Reading Series. In 2005, Rawlings hosted the poetry documentary series Heart of a Poet. She is also co-editor of Shift & Switch: New Canadian Poetry (The Mercury Press, 2005), an anthology featuring over forty emerging poets from across the country.
As an arts educator, rawlings has led creative writing workshops for Ryerson University, terminus1525.ca, Learning through the Arts, League of Canadian Poets, Ontario Arts Council's Artists in Education Program, the Toronto District School Board, Writers in Electronic Residence, and the Toronto Public Library system. She occasionally co-facilitates with Ciara Adams sound/text/movement workshops.
Rawlings' first book, Wide slumber for lepidopterists was published in spring 2006 by Coach House Books. In November 2006, Theatre Commutiny staged a full-length performance of the book as part of Harbourfront Centre's Hatch: Emerging Performance Projects series; Rawlings performed in and co-produced the show. In April 2007, Wide slumber for lepidopterists received a nomination for the Gerald Lampert Award for Best First Book of Poetry. The book was also awarded Alcuin Award for Book Design, and was listed in The Globe and Mail's top 100 books of 2006.
In addition to literary pursuits, Rawlings occasionally works in theatre, music, and dance. She taught ballroom, Latin, and swing dances from 2001-3. She has also worked with Toronto's Theatre Gargantua. Most recently, Rawlings has collaborated with improvising musicians in Toronto and Vancouver.
