# Di Brandt > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Di_Brandt > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Di_Brandt.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Di_Brandt > Source revision: 1346356618 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Canadian poet and scholar (born 1952)}} {{Infobox academic | birth_name = Diana Janzen | birth_date = 31 January 1952 | birth_place = [Winkler, Manitoba](/source/Winkler%2C_Manitoba), Canada | occupation = Poet | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * [Canadian Mennonite Bible College](/source/Canadian_Mennonite_University) {{Small|([BTh](/source/Bachelor_of_Theology))}} * [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto) {{Small|([MA](/source/Master_of_Arts))}} * [University of Manitoba](/source/University_of_Manitoba) {{Small|([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts), [PhD](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy))}} }} | thesis_title = Wild mother dancing : maternal narrative in contemporary writing by women in Canada and Quebec | thesis_url = http://hdl.handle.net/1993/9780 | thesis_year = 1993 | awards = {{Awards|[McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award](/source/McNally_Robinson_Book_of_the_Year_Award)|1990|Agnes in the sky}} {{Awards|[Canadian Authors Association](/source/Canadian_Authors_Association) Award for Poetry|1996|Jerusalem, beloved}} }} '''Di Brandt''' (''née'' '''Janzen'''; 31 January 1952){{cite web |date=13 May 2004 |title=Di Brandt |url=https://quillandquire.com/authors/di-brandt/ |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=Quill and Quire |publisher=}} often stylized as '''di brandt''', is a Canadian poet and scholar from [Winnipeg](/source/Winnipeg), [Manitoba](/source/Manitoba). She became Winnipeg's first Poet Laureate in 2018.{{Cite web |last=Posted |first=Ligia Braidotti |date=2017-12-11 |title=Dec 2017: Winnipeg welcomes first poet laureate |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/times/2017/12/11/winnipeg-welcomes-first-poet-laureate |access-date=2025-05-28 |website=Our Communities |language=en-US}} ==Life and career== Brandt grew up in [Reinland](/source/Reinland), a [Mennonite](/source/Mennonite) farming village in southern [Manitoba](/source/Manitoba) near [Winkler](/source/Winkler%2C_Manitoba).{{cite web|title=Di Brandt|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/di-brandt|accessdate=May 21, 2021}} Her first volume of poetry ''[questions i asked my mother](/source/Questions_I_Asked_My_Mother)'' was published by [Turnstone Press](/source/Turnstone_Press) in 1987. Since then she has published seven more volumes of poetry, as well as literary criticism. Brandt earned a [Bachelor of Theology](/source/Bachelor_of_Theology) from the [Canadian Mennonite Bible College](/source/Canadian_Mennonite_University) in 1972. In 1975, she earned a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) at the [University of Manitoba](/source/University_of_Manitoba) before going on to earn a [Master of Arts](/source/Master_of_Arts) from the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto) in 1976. She earned her PhD in Canadian literature from the University of Manitoba in 1993, and has also taught Canadian literature and creative writing.{{cite book|title=Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature|publisher=Oxford University Press}} She was poetry editor at ''[Prairie Fire Magazine](/source/Prairie_Fire_(magazine))'' and ''[Contemporary Verse 2](/source/Contemporary_Verse_2)'' during the 1980s and 1990s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} She also served as Manitoba and Prairie Rep at the [League of Canadian Poets](/source/League_of_Canadian_Poets) National Council and the [Writers' Union of Canada](/source/Writers'_Union_of_Canada) National Council.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} In 2018, she became the first Poet Laureate of Winnipeg, a position she held through 2019,{{cite news|title=Meet Winnipeg's new poet laureate|publisher=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/metro/Meet-Winnipegs-new-poet-laureate-568872351.html|accessdate=May 21, 2021}} and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by [MacEwan University](/source/MacEwan_University) in 2021.{{cite web|title=UWinnipeg's Di Brandt recognized|date=12 November 2021 |publisher=University of Winnipeg|url=https://news.uwinnipeg.ca/uwinnipegs-di-brandt-recognized-with-honorary-doctorate/|accessdate=Nov 17, 2021}} ==Bibliography== Poetry: *''[questions i asked my mother](/source/Questions_I_Asked_My_Mother)'' (Winnipeg: [Turnstone Press](/source/Turnstone_Press), 1987) *''Agnes in the sky'' (Winnipeg: [Turnstone Press](/source/Turnstone_Press), 1990) *''mother, not mother'' (Toronto: [The Mercury Press](/source/The_Mercury_Press), 1992) *''Jerusalem, beloved'' (Winnipeg: [Turnstone Press](/source/Turnstone_Press), 1995) *''Now You Care'' (Toronto: [Coach House Press](/source/Coach_House_Press), 2003) *''The Lottery of History'' (Brandon, MB: Radish Press, 2008). Chapbook. *''Walking to Mojacar,'' with French and Spanish translations by Charles Leblanc and Ari Belathar (Winnipeg: [Turnstone Press](/source/Turnstone_Press), 2010) *''SHE: Poems inspired by Laozi,'' with ink drawings by Lin Xu (Brandon, MB: Radish Press, 2012). Chapbook. *''The Sweetest Dance on Earth: New and Selected Poems'' (Winnipeg: [Turnstone Press](/source/Turnstone_Press), 2022) Essays: *''Wild Mother Dancing: Maternal Narrative in Canadian Literature'' (Winnipeg, MB: [University of Manitoba Press](/source/University_of_Manitoba_Press) 1993). *''Dancing Naked: Narrative Strategies for Writing Across Centuries'' (Toronto: Mercury Press 1996). *''Re:Generations: Canadian Women Poets in Conversation'' (Windsor, ON: [Black Moss Press](/source/Black_Moss_Press) 2006), ed. with Barbara Godard. *''So this is the world & here I am in it'' (Edmonton: [NeWest Press](/source/NeWest_Press) 2007). *''Wider Boundaries of Daring: The Modernist Impulse in Canadian Women's Poetry'' (Waterloo, ON: [Wilfrid Laurier University Press](/source/Wilfrid_Laurier_University_Press) 2011), ed. with Barbara Godard. Collaborations: *''Awakenings: In Four Voices'', a collaborative poetry/music audio recording (CD) with [Dorothy Livesay](/source/Dorothy_Livesay) (posthumously), [Carol Ann Weaver](/source/Carol_Ann_Weaver) and [Rebecca Campbell](/source/Rebecca_Campbell_(musician)) (2003). *''Emily, The Way you Are'', a one-woman chamber opera about the life and work of Emily Carr, with musical score by [Jana Skarecky](/source/Jana_Skarecky), premiered at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, ON, in 2011, featuring mezzo-soprano [Ramona Carmelly](/source/Ramona_Carmelly) and the [Talisker Players](/source/Talisker_Players) directed by [Gary Kulesha](/source/Gary_Kulesha). *''Watermelon Syrup: A Novel'' with [Annie Jacobsen](/source/Annie_Jacobsen) and [Jane Finlay-Young](/source/Jane_Finlay-Young) [(WLUP 2011)](/source/(WLUP_2011)). *''Coyotes do not carry her away,'' a musical setting of Di Brandt's poems, by Manitoba composer [Kenneth Nichols](/source/Kenneth_Nichols), commissioned by the Brandon Chamber Society and premiered at Brandon City Hall in 2012, featuring [Naomi Forman](/source/Naomi_Forman) (soprano), [Catherine Wood](/source/Catherine_Wood_(musician)) (clarinet) and [Ann Germani](/source/Ann_Germani) (harp). ==Awards and recognition== * [Gerald Lampert Award](/source/Gerald_Lampert_Award) for "best first book of poetry in Canada," for ''questions i asked my mother.'' * [McNally Robinson Manitoba Book of the Year Award](/source/McNally_Robinson_Manitoba_Book_of_the_Year_Award) for ''Agnes in the sky.'' * [CAA National Poetry Prize](/source/CAA_National_Poetry_Prize) for ''Jerusalem, beloved.'' * [Foreword Gold Medal for Fiction](/source/Foreword_Gold_Medal_for_Fiction) for ''Watermelon Syrup.'' * [Gabrielle Roy Prize](/source/Gabrielle_Roy_Prize) for "best book of literary criticism in Canada," with Barbara Godard, for ''Wider Boundaries of Daring: The Modernist Impulse in Canadian Women's Poetry.'' * [Brandon University President's Medal for Research, Teaching and Service](/source/Brandon_University_President's_Medal_for_Research%2C_Teaching_and_Service) 2011. * [Canada Research Chair](/source/Canada_Research_Chair) in Literature and Creative Writing, Brandon University, 2005–2011. * [SSHRC](/source/SSHRC) Research Fellow, University of Alberta, 1996–1998. * Research Excellence Award, University of Windsor, 2006. * Gold Medal for Exceptional Service to Brandon University, 2009. * Research Fellow, Ledig House, New York, 2004. * Research Fellow, Hawthornden Castle, Scotland, 1999. * Research Fellow, Chateau de Lavigny, Switzerland, 2001. * Research Fellow, Fundacion Valparaiso, Spain, 2006. * [Governor General's Award for Poetry](/source/Governor_General's_Award_for_Poetry) nomination, for ''questions i asked my mother.'' * [Governor General's Award for Poetry](/source/Governor_General's_Award_for_Poetry) nomination, for ''Jerusalem, beloved.'' * [Griffin Poetry Prize](/source/Griffin_Poetry_Prize) 2004 shortlist, for ''Now You Care.''{{cite web|title=2004 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist-Di Brandt|url=http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/awards-and-poets/shortlists/2004-shortlist/di-brandt/|access-date=13 August 2018}} * [Trillium Ontario Book of the Year Award](/source/Trillium_Ontario_Book_of_the_Year_Award) for ''Now You Care.'' * [Pat Lowther Award](/source/Pat_Lowther_Award) for "best book of poetry by a Canadian woman, nomination, for ''mother, not mother.'' * [Pat Lowther Award](/source/Pat_Lowther_Award) nomination, for ''Jerusalem, beloved.'' * [Pat Lowther Award](/source/Pat_Lowther_Award) nomination, for ''Now You Care.'' * [McNally Robinson Manitoba Book of the Year Award](/source/McNally_Robinson_Manitoba_Book_of_the_Year_Award) nomination, for ''So this is the world & here I am in it.'' * [McNally Robinson Manitoba Book of the Year Award](/source/McNally_Robinson_Manitoba_Book_of_the_Year_Award) nomination, for ''Wild Mother Dancing: Maternal Narrative in Canadian Literature.'' * [McNally Robinson Manitoba Book of the Year Award](/source/McNally_Robinson_Manitoba_Book_of_the_Year_Award) nomination, for ''Walking to Mojacar,'' with French and Spanish translations by Charles Leblanc and Ari Belathar. ==See also== {{Portal| Poetry| Biography| Canada}} *[Canadian literature](/source/Canadian_literature) *[Canadian poetry](/source/Canadian_poetry) *[List of Canadian poets](/source/List_of_Canadian_poets) ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == * [http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/awards-and-poets/shortlists/2004-shortlist/di-brandt/ Griffin Poetry Prize biography] * [http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/see-and-hear-poetry/a-g/di-brandt/ Griffin Poetry Prize reading, including video clip] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070926225537/http://www.goshen.edu/mennonitepoetry/Home Mennonite Voices in Poetry] * [http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2017/13416/ Giessener Elektronische Bibliothek:] Julia Michael, ''Narrating communities: constructing and challenging Mennonite Canadian identities through narrative,'' thesis [Universität Gießen](/source/Universit%C3%A4t_Gie%C3%9Fen) 2017, therein ''Deconstructing Images of Motherhood in Di Brandt's "Mother, not mother",'' pp. 157–173 {{Gerald Lampert Award}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Di}} Category:1952 births Category:20th-century Canadian poets Category:21st-century Canadian poets Category:Canadian Mennonites Category:21st-century Canadian women poets Category:Canada Research Chairs Category:Living people Category:Mennonite poets Category:People from Winkler, Manitoba Category:University of Manitoba alumni Category:University of Toronto alumni Category:Writers from Winnipeg Category:Municipal poets laureate in Canada Category:Manitoba Book Awards winners Category:Poets from Manitoba Category:20th-century Canadian women poets --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Di Brandt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Di_Brandt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Di_Brandt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.