{{Short description|Canadian playwright and poet}} '''Natalie Meisner''' is a Canadian playwright, poet, and academic, known for her literary contributions and her role as the fifth Poet Laureate of Calgary.<ref>{{cite web |title=The power of words: Calgary's new poet laureate feels added responsibility in these troubled times |url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/local-arts/the-power-of-words-calgarys-new-poet-laureate-feels-added-responsibility-in-these-troubled-times |publisher=Calgary Herald}}</ref> She is currently a professor in English and Creative Writing at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=Natalie Meisner |url=https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/Arts/Departments/EnglishLanguagesCultures/FacultyStaff/NatalieMeisner.htm |website=Mount Royal University |language=en}}</ref>

==Selected works== ===Plays=== *"Legislating Love: The Everett Klippert Story": This play is inspired by the life of Everett Klippert, a Calgary bus driver whose story played a significant role in the decriminalization of homosexuality.<ref>{{cite news |title=Review: Legislating Love reveals a new brand of historical drama |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/reviews/article-review-legislating-love-reveals-a-new-brand-of-historical-drama/ |work=The Globe and Mail |date=23 March 2018 |language=en-CA}}</ref> *"AREA 33": A thought-provoking play exploring themes of intergenerational mistrust and challenges in the fishing industry. *"Speed Dating for Sperm Donors" (stage play)<ref>{{cite web |title=Review: Sperm search leads to comedy at Lunchbox Theatre |url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/review-sperm-search-leads-to-comedy-at-lunchbox-theatre |publisher=Calgary Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Belanger |first1=Joe |title=Speed Dating for Sperm Donors give audiences a couple 'to root for' |url=https://lfpress.com/entertainment/local-arts/speed-dating-for-sperm-donors-give-audiences-a-couple-to-root-for |publisher=London Free Press}}</ref>

===Books=== *Meisner, Natalie (1 March 2014). ''Double Pregnant: Two Lesbians Make a Family''. Roseway Publishing, ISBN 978-1552666012.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neddow |first1=Delainey |title=Review of: Meisner, Natalie. (2014). Double Pregnant: Two Lesbians Make a Family. Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing. |journal=Canadian Journal of Family and Youth |date=28 February 2017 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=145–149 |doi=10.29173/cjfy29032 |url=https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cjfy/index.php/cjfy/article/view/29032/21179 |language=en |issn=1718-9748|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Chisvin |first1=Sharon |title=May 2014: Lesbian couple's journey to parenthood doubly difficult |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/2014/05/03/lesbian-couples-journey-to-parenthood-doubly-difficult |website=Winnipeg Free Press |date=3 May 2014}}</ref> *Meisner, Natalie (8 April 2019). ''My Mommy, My Mama, My Brother, and Me: These Are the Things We Found By the Sea''. Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-77108-741-4.<ref>{{cite web |title=Book review: My mommy, my mama, my brother & me, by Natalie Meisner, illustrated by Mathilde Mars-Cinq |url=https://www.glbtrt.ala.org/reviews/book-review-my-mommy-my-mama-my-brother-me-by-natalie-meisner-illustrated-by-mathilde-mars-cinq/ |website=Rainbow Round Table Book and Media Reviews |date=28 October 2020}}</ref> *Meisner, Natalie (17 September 2019). ''Baddie One Shoe''. Frontenac House ISBN 978-1-927823-96-5.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shelf Life Books' JoAnn McCaig reveals what books are popular in her Calgary store |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/full-episode-nov-16-2019-1.5358218/shelf-life-books-joann-mccaig-reveals-what-books-are-popular-in-her-calgary-store-1.5358221 |publisher=CBC}}</ref> *Meisner, Natalie; Allen, Kevin; Maillie, Tereasa; Mehmel, Jason (15 November 2019). ''Legislating Love: The Everett Klippert Story'' (1st ed.). University of Calgary Press. ISBN 978-1773850818. *Meisner, Natalie (27 April 2020). ''Speed Dating for Sperm Donors''. Playwrights Canada Press. ISBN 978-0369100825. * Meisner, Natalie (15 April 2023). ''It Begins in Salt''. Frontenac House Ltd. ISBN 978-1-989466-47-6.

==Awards and honours==

''It Begins In Salt'' was on the Calgary bestseller list and was recently shortlisted for the Gwendolyn MacEwen poetry award.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fiction and Poetry Competitions |url=http://www.exilequarterly.com/poetry-and-fiction-competitions/ |publisher=Exile Quarterly |date=20 February 2020}}</ref>

Two plays by Meisner are shortlisted for the Tom Hendry Awards run by the Playwright's Guild of Canada: "Legislating Love" (shortlisted for the Carol Bolt Award) and "AREA 33" (shortlisted for the Drama Award).<ref>{{cite web |title=Nine BC artists make Playwright Guild of Canada 2023 Tom Hendry Awards shortlist |url=https://www.straight.com/arts/nine-bc-artists-make-playwright-guild-of-canada-2023-tom-hendry-awards-shortlist |website=The Georgia Straight |language=en |date=18 September 2023}}</ref>

Natalie Meisner was awarded the Carol Bolt Award at the Tom Hendry Awards in 2023 for ''Legislating Love''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Natalie Meisner wins the 2023 Carol Bolt Theatre Award |url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/natalie-meisner-wins-the-2023-carol-bolt-theatre-award |publisher=Calgary Herald|date=October 20, 2023|author=Louis B. Hobson}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisner, Natalie}} Category:Poets laureate of Calgary Category:Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Category:Academic staff of Mount Royal University Category:Living people Category:21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Category:21st-century Canadian poets Category:Canadian lesbian writers Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Canadian LGBTQ poets Category:Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Category:21st-century Canadian women poets