Biography

Tracy Hamon was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She holds an MA in English from the University of Regina. Her first book of poetry, This Is Not Eden, was released in April of 2005 and was a finalist for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. A portion of Interruptions in Glass won the 2005 City of Regina Writing Award and was shortlisted for two Saskatchewan Book Awards in 2010. Her third collection, Red Curls, won the Drs. Morris and Jacqui Shumiatcher Regina Book Award in 2015.

Micro-interview

Did you read poetry when you were in high school? Is there a particular poem that you loved when you were a teenager?


I don’t don' know how or when, but I remember stumbling across "Waiting for Icarus" by Muriel Rukeyser. I remember the feeling I had after the poem, not a feeling I can describe well, but the poem itself changed the way I thought of poetry. It made me want to write better. For the most part, I don't really remember one poem over another in high school (we were taught a lot of non-Canadian poetry), but the Western Producer had a section for youth writing. It was called the YC (Youth Club). Any budding young writer could join the club, submit work to the editors, usually peers, and then wait with teenaged-anxiety to see if your work would get printed. We used pen names as well, which made it somehow more exciting! 

When did you first start writing poetry? And then when did you start thinking of yourself as a poet?


I first starting writing poetry when I was about 15, but I never considered myself a poet. I considered myself a writer, and as such, I wrote anything! I wrote during algebra (a story that included each and every classmate), I wrote poetry reponses instead of essays for English (we were allowed to do so at the time), I wrote novels by hand (lost to the world). I wrote short stories for the school newspaper. 


I was asked just the other day why I write poetry. I said it's because of the language, it's about finding the right word, form and conveying a feeling to the reader. It's complex and intricate and you can spend days, months, even years perfecting poetry. I'm a poet because of poetry. 

What do you think a poet’s “job” is?


Poets, like all writers, are watchers. We observe the world and report back through our writing. 

If you had to choose one poem to memorize from our anthology, which one would it be?


"Common Magic" by Bronwen Wallace. 

Publications

Title
This is Not Eden
Publisher
Thistledown Press
Date
2005
Publication type
Book
Title
Interruptions In Glass
Publisher
Coteau Books
Date
2010
Publication type
Book
Title
Red Curls
Publisher
Thistledown Press
Date
2014
Publication type
Book
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