Suzanne Steele

Personal details

Telephone:

07517159982

Email:

ss534@ex.ac.uk

Nationality:

Canadian

2012-present:

Bachelor Music, University of British Columbia Master of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario PhD Candidate, English, University of Exeter

Professional/research experience

January 1 1991 - March 12 2012:

Canada/UK

Published work, video (selected) - 2013 Wittgenstein Vector, eXegesis Press, with Mike Rose-Steel and Jaime Robles 51 Shades of Black and Blue' with Mike Rose-Steel and Jaime Robles, UX press, 2013 - ‘Requiem’, Libretti for Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation, Maremagnum Publishing Inc. 2012 [poems, prose] - 'Elegy for an Infantryman', read by the Honorable Jason Kennedy, National Minister of Multiculturalism and Immigration, Nov. 11, 2012 on behalf of the Prime Minister of Canada - ‘9 liner’, Desperately Seeking Susans, Oolichan Books, 2012 [poems] - ‘Embed’, Embedded on the Homefront Anthology, Heritage House Press, 2012 [essay] ‘Suffield Tree’, ‘Suffield Diary’, ACS publication, Calgary, AB, 2011 - ‘Who Who Are You’, On Site Review 25 (On Identity), Calgary, AB, 2011 (poetry) - ‘Night Before the First Big Op (Panjawaii/2009)’, ‘9 liner’ and Elegy for an Infantryman’, in In Arms, ed. Alice Major, Edmonton Poetry Festival Society, Edmonton AB, 2010 [poetry] - ‘Elegy for an Infantryman’ and ‘To Young Infantrymen Training for Afghanistan’, Remembrance Day Video for Nova Scotian Vets, Earle Thompson videographer, 2010 [poetry] - ‘So Beautiful’ and ‘For You at the Shura’, On Site Review 22 (On War), Calgary, AB 2009 [poetry] ‘-So Beautiful’, ‘For You at the Shura’ and ’24 hrs’, Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, v.12/issue 1, Calgary, AB 2009 [poetry] - Excerpts from May Day: War Letters to my Lover in Afghanistan: ‘Prologue: Recce’; ‘Wednesday, May 14: Poppy Harvest’; ‘Thursday, May 15: MNVGs’; ‘Friday, May 16: Matériel’ and ‘Sunday, May 18: Ramp Ceremony’, Dream Catcher Issue 33, Lincoln, U.K. 2009 [poetry] - ‘A War Poet’s Year’, Western Sentinel, v.12/16 Sept. 17, 2009 [prose] - ‘August Widow’, ‘24 hrs leave’, ‘To Young Infantrymen Training for Afghanistan’, Excerpts from May Day: ‘Friday, May 2: Recce’; ‘Saturday, May 3: Flamenca txts M’, ‘Tuesday; May 13: Mosquito’; ‘Wednesday, May 14: Poppy Harvest’; Thursday, May 15: MNVGs’; ‘Saturday, June 12: Acanthus Leaves’ and ‘Night Watch in the Gun Turret with Sgt. B’/ ‘La Garde de Nuit Dans Latourelle de Mitailleuse avec St. B’, (translation M. Nattras), CV2 The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing, v. 31/3, Winnipeg, MB, 2009 [poetry] - ‘An Interview with smsteele’ with editor Clarisse Foster, CV2 The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing, v. 31/3, Winnipeg, MB, 2009 [my prose responses] - ‘Pilgrimage’, Brownsbank Anthology, eds. Tom Bryan, Linda Cracknell, Andrew MacCallum, Biggars Museum Trust, South Lankashire Council, Robertson Trust and Glasgow University, Biggar, U.K., 2009 [poetry] - ‘Letter From (Afghanistan)’, The Poetry Reader, Scottish Poetry Library, Issue 5, Edinburgh 2009 [prose] - ‘So Beautiful’, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ont. Nov.28, 2009 [poetry] - Excerpt from ‘Elegy for an Infantryman’, The Maple Leaf, v.11/no. 30, Ottawa 2008 - ‘August Widow’, Montreal Gazette, Toronto Star, Windsor Star, Regina Post, Calgary Herald, Vancouver Sun, Halifax Chronicle Herald, Victoria Times-Colonist, Ottawa Citizen, Regina Leader Post, Edmonton Journal, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Nov. 2008 [poetry] ‘ - August Widow’, The Outlook, Victoria, BC 2008 [poetry] - ‘A Few Words from a War Poet on Witness’, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Victoria, BC 2008 [prose] - ‘Rawan Tander’, ‘Wednesday, May 14: Poppy Harvest’ and ‘Acanthus Leaves’, The Tyee (online journal of culture and news), Monday Magazine, 2008 [poetry] - ‘To the Firefighters of Kabul’, commissioned/published by the Langford Fire Dept. for Afghan Ambassador to Canada, Omar Samad, and visiting fire-fighters from Kabul, 2008 [poetry] - ‘Begin The Year’, from The Year, Leaf Press Poem of the Month, 2008 [poetry] ‘ - Snowshoeing’, The Society (quarterly), St. Peter’s College, SK, 2007 [poetry] - ‘Life and Death in the Hebrides’, on a season lambing in South Uist, U.K. in The Toronto Star, 2007 [journalism] - ‘Sonicbios’, LifeIcon, TC Helicon corporate commission, Victoria, BC [poetry] - Auguri Ella: ‘This is Your First Spring’, ‘Spring’, ‘In the Orchard’, ‘I Remember Thinking in Fall’, ‘They Split Me’, ‘I Have Seen That Other Country’, ‘Trisomy’, ‘I Saw Her Map’, ‘This Moment’, ‘This Razor’, ‘Late August Morning’, ‘In the Hot August Garden’ and ‘This is Your Year’, in Threshold six women: six poets, ed. Rona Murray, Sono Nis Press (Victoria, BC), 1998. [poetry] Poetry adopted into curricula ‘Elegy for an Infantryman’, Grade 12 English Literature, Open School, British Columbia Ministry of Education, BC, 2009-2010 ‘For You at the Shura’, Master Level English Literature, Modern/Post Modern War Writing, University of Glasgow, 2010 ‘So Beautiful’ and ‘Elegy for an Infantryman’, Grade 12 English Literature, New Horizon, Winnipeg, MB, 2009 Cited BUETTNER, THOMAS, The Rhetoric of Non-War: Canadian Peacekeeper Poetry University of Frieburgh thesis, ( Frieburgh, Germany, 2011) [interview] CADBY, ALEX, I Have No Words to Speak of War: The Problem of Silence in the Soldier Poetry of the First World War ad the Present Day, Master of English Literature Thesis, University of Exeter, (Exeter, U.K. 2010) [poetry and prose] HARRISON, MATT, 21st Century War Poetry, Master of Radio Production Thesis, Bournemouth University, (Bournemouth, U.K.) 2010 [interview and reading] MARR, SIMON R., COL., Where are the War Poets; the Role and Relevance of Contemporary British War Poetry Today, dissertation, Royal College of Defence Studies, London, U.K. 2011 [poetry, prose, interview] Other: 1991-present For several years I have been working from home while raising a family in several cities in Canada and Edinburgh, U.K. While doing this, I wrote, edited, consulted and taught. I wrote book reviews, music reviews and feature articles for local and national newspapers and magazines and consulting reports for clients including the World Bank, national telecommunications companies, the National Minister of Health, Provincial Depts. of Education, the University of British Columbia Continuing Medical Education, the National Radiologists Society of North America (Chicago), The Engine Shed (Edinburgh) etc. In 1994, I was a co-founder and editor of a community newspaper that is still being published in Victoria, B.C. Blogs War Poet: http://www.warpoet.ca/ WarPoet.ca is one of smsteele's Canadian Forces Artist Program projects. Through text, audio, images, video and contributions by military personnel (Canadian, U.K.), warpoet.ca examines and records the contemporary Afghan war experience from the home front and in the theatre of war. Singing with the Boys: http://smsteele.wordpress.com/ Singing With The Boys refers to the Benedictine monks with whom I sang the Offices while at their St. Peter’s artists’ colony at St. Peter’s Abbey, Meunster, SK. It is a free writing space used to examine the writing life. Trek to Santiago de Compostela (for NICU Babies): http://trek4babies.wordpress.com Trek to Santiago de Compostela was written in 2007 while I walked the Camino (850 kms across Northern Spain) with my family. The trek was thanksgiving for the survival of my daughter, born critically ill ten years earlier. I wrote the blog as a record of our experience and also to encourage donors to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (VGH/Victoria), the unit that saved our daughter’s life at birth following massive thoracic surgery. We raised $26,000 and purchased two positive-flow ventilators for sick newborns. The May Day Poetry Project: http://maydaypoems.blogspot.com/The May Day Poetry Project (not to be confused with my May Day: Letters to a Lover in Afghanistan) is a collaborative online project written with some critically acclaimed poets as well as first-time poets. Every May 1st, we poets commit to posting a piece every day in the month of May in a “workman-like” manner (May Day). It is a supportive project that offers poets a site to experiment, fail, and to discuss others’ works in progress. I’ve participated in May Day for 4 years. Invited Lectures, Readings, Radio Interviews (selected), Performances • 51 Shades of Black and Blue - Poetry cabaret, University of Exeter, Feb. 13, 2013 * The Art of Witness, 3rd year Critical Theory seminar, University of Exeter, hosted by PhD candidate, Mike Rose-Steel, November 28, 2012 • The Charles Adler New Year’s Special, feature television interview broadcast nationwide, Dec. 31, 2012 • BBC World Service, World Update, feature interview, November 12, 2012 • CBC National Radio, As It Happens, feature interview, November 9, 2012 • Calgary Herald Feature Interview, November, 2012 • National Post Feature Interview, November, 2012 • Speaking of War & Peace, symposium, Calgary, AB. Oct. 29, 2012, • U.S. Consulate, Daniel Pearle Day, reading, speaking engagement, Oct. 29, 2012 • Oxford, UK. Edward Thomas Fellowship Study Day, reading, June 2012 • BBC World Service, World Update, feature interview, November 8, 2012 • National Post Feature Interview, November, 2012 • Speaking of War & Peace, symposium, Calgary, AB. Oct. 29, 2012, • U.S. Consulate, Daniel Pearle Day, reading, speaking engagement, Oct. 29, 2012 • Oxford, UK. Edward Thomas Fellowship Study Day, reading, June 2012 • Banff Centre, Leighton Artist Colony, Afghanistan Requiem for a Generation, May 2012 • 2012 Paddon Prize, University of Exeter, UK, March 22, 2012 • High Performance Rodeo, ‘Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation,’ Christ the Redeemer Cathedral, Calgary Alberta, with actors, soloists, pianist, Jeffrey Ryan, presentation/preview of the requiem/my text. • War Artists, CBC Television, The National, feature interview with Deana Sumanac on my work as a war artist. Canada, July 14, 2011. • May Day Project, with professional actors M. Armstrong, A Plouffe, dance, flamenco guitarist Gareth Owen, C Fantastico, Victoria, BC, May 2011 • Banff Centre Leighton Artist Colony, presentation of ‘Ethics and the Art of Witness’, Banff, AB, Mar. 2011 • National War Museum of Canada, A Brush With War: War Artists from Korea to Afghanistan, presentation of my war photography, lecture and reading, Ottawa, Dec. 2010 • Royal Alberta Museum, In Arms: words from soldiers and their families, a dramatic reading from the In Arms poetry project. Produced by the Edmonton Poetry Festival, directed by Kevin Kerr, with live music by Marc Beaudin, photographic images by Cpl. Shawn Grove, and featuring Joel Crichton, Michael Gravel and Suzanne Steele. Royal Alberta Museum Theatre, Edmonton, AB Nov. 10 2010 • CBC Radio Active with Peter Brown, feature interview and reading of ‘9-liner’, Edmonton, AB, June 2010 • other readings: I have read extensively across Canada and in the U.K. • 1290 CJBK Radio, London in the Afternoon, feature radio interview and reading with Alan Coombs, London, Ont. May 2010 • Tree Reading Series, featured poet, Ottawa, Ont. May, 2010 • Ottawa Public Library, reading, presentation of photography, Ottawa, Ont. May 2010 • CBC Radio All Points West with Jo-Anne Roberts, interview and reading of ‘On the Loss of Lt. Andrew Nuttall’, Victoria, BC January 10, 2010 • BBC Radio World Service, World Update with Dan Damon, live broadcast interview and reading of ‘This Country’, from Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, Nov. 13th, 2009 • CBC National Radio, The Story from Here, interview and reading of ‘Elegy for an Infantryman’, National, Nov. 11th, 2009 • CBC Radio Sound XChanges with Kelly Jo Burke, reading ‘For Justin Boyles’ and interview, Saskatchewan, Nov., 9, 2009 • Victoria School for the Performing Arts, reading, presentation of photography, with Cpl. Shawn Grove, Alpha Company war artist, September 2009 • Centre for Military and Strategic Studies (University of Calgary), presentation of my war photography, guest lecturer and poetry reading, Calgary, AB September 2009 • CBC Sound XChanges with Bonnie Austring-Winter, reading ‘Elegy for an Infantryman’ and interview, Saskatchewan, August, 2009 • Edmonton Poetry Festival, headliner poet, Edmonton, AB May 2008 • Victoria School for the Performing Arts, reading, presentation of photography, Edmonton AB May 2009 • CBC National Radio, The Current with Anna Maria Trimonte, interview, Toronto, Ont. October 30, 2008 • BBC World Service, Newshour with Claire Balderson, interview, London, U.K., October 24, 2008 • Edinburgh Fringe Festival, reading, Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh, August 2004 • Winners, Scottish International Open Poetry Competition, reading, Irvine, Ayrshire, U.K. 2004 Newspaper interviews, articles about S. M. Steele (selected): • ‘War poems melded with music,’ Calgary Herald, March 1, 2012 • ‘Concertgoers Get Sneak Preview of War Requiem’, Calgary Herald January 24, 2012 • ‘A War of Words’, Ian Elliot, Kingston Whig Standard, May 5, 2010 • ‘‘Embedded poet’ Saw War First-hand in Afghanistan,’ Ryan Cormier, Edmonton Journal, June 28, 2010 • ‘Guns, Money, Iambic Pentameter’, MacLean’s Magazine, July 5, 2010 • ‘Canada’s First War Poet Armed with a Pen’, Patrick White, Globe and Mail, November 27, 2009 • ‘Dust to Verse,’ Jim Gibson, Victoria Times Colonist, Halifax Herald, Montreal Gazette, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Windsor Star etc. November 2008 Several articles in military newspapers, The Maple Leaf, The Outlook, Quill and Quire, The Tyee, Monday Magazine etc. 2008 - present.

CV: Membership of Professional Bodies/Professional Qualifications

2012-present:

Exeter Poets

I am a member of the Exeter Poets, PhD poets currently working in Exeter.