In a few days, non-fiction writer and activist Susan Crean will arrive to take up residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House. On Thursday, September 15, Crean will begin to live and work at the house for a three-month term, ending Thursday, December 15. While in residence, Crean will work with writers and host this year’s Writing for Social Change reading series. The fabulous line-up of authors invited to join Crean in conversation about their work will be announced this week. While in residence, Crean is writing a blog that you can find at www.susancrean.ca.
Susan originally moved to British Columbia in 1989 to take up a position in the Creative Writing department at the University of British Columbia. She stayed for ten years, during which time she wrote her groundbreaking work of creative non-fiction about Emily Carr’s legacy, as well as a biography of CUPE leader and feminist pioneer Grace Hartman, and numerous book reviews for the Vancouver Sun. The Laughing One: A Journey to Emily Carr, won the BC Book prize for non-fiction in 2002.
Susan lives in the South Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto, and is currently working on a book about Toronto which includes the story of head-tax payer, Wong Dong Wong, who came to Canada in 1911. For more on that story, check out her website at www.whatistoronto.ca.
We are most grateful to the Canada Council author residency program and the BC Arts Council for their assistance in funding this residency.