UTSC English Welcomes New Faculty Members

UTSC English Welcomes New Faculty Members

The Department of English at UTSC is delighted to announce the appointment of two new faculty members following our recent TRC-response search in Creative Writing, Indigenous Literatures, and Oral Traditions: Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm and Randy Lundy.

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm is a widely recognized creative practitioner and educator whose publications encompass poetry, fiction, non-fiction, radio plays, television and film, libretti, graphic novels, and spoken word. Her 2015 book of short stories, The Stone Collection, was a finalist for the Sarton Literary Book Awards, and her recording A Constellation of Bones (with Te Kupu), was a nominee for a 2008 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award. Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm holds a MA in English literature from the University of Ottawa and has taught creative writing and Indigenous literatures at the University of Manitoba, the Banff Centre’s Aboriginal Arts Program, and the En’owkin International School of Writing in partnership with the University of Victoria. She has also served as Poet Laureate for Owen Sound and North Grey. Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm is the founding editor (now managing editor) of Kegedonce Press, one of four established Indigenous-run publishing houses in Canada, and also works as a consultant with Indigenous organizations and communities. She is a member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Saugeen Ojibway Nation on the Saugeen Peninsula in Ontario.

Randy Lundy is an award-winning poet whose collections include Blackbird Song (2018) and the forthcoming Field Notes for the Self (2020), both published by the University of Regina Press. He has also published fiction and non-fiction, and his work is featured in some of the most significant anthologies of Indigenous writings in Canada, as well as internationally. Randy Lundy holds a MA in English from the University of Saskatchewan and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Fiction Writing from the Humber School for Writers. He has extensive experience as a university educator at First Nations University and at Campion College in Regina, where he has taught courses in creative writing and Indigenous literatures across program levels. Randy Lundy currently serves as Director of Indigenous Relations for the YWCA in Regina. He is a member of the Barren Lands First Nation in Manitoba.

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm and Randy Lundy will join the faculty at UTSC on July 1, 2020, as Assistant Professors, Teaching Stream. We look forward to welcoming them to the department, to the campus, and to the University of Toronto!

Akiwenzie the Stone Collection
Lundy Blackbird Song

 

Posted: 28/1/2020