Welcome
Honours
Contests and Awards
Reviews
Invitations
Interviews
Sample Poems
Sample Translation
Locations Published
Selected Publications
Philosophy
Contact

 

 

 

 
 
Carr recommends:
Duotrope's Digest: search for short fiction & poetry markets

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Fern G. Z. Carr

 

Welcome

Welcome to the official Fern G. Z. Carr website highlighting the work of this contemporary Canadian poet.  A member of The League of Canadian poets, Carr is a former lawyer, teacher and past Director/President of the local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She composes and translates poetry in five languages and has been published extensively world-wide from Finland to Mayotte Island in the Mozambique Channel.  Carr was deeply honoured to have had one of her poems selected by the Parliamentary Poet Laureate as Poem of the Month for Canada.  That link, sample poems, reviews and other information follow.

 

Honours

  • Carr's poem, "I Am", selected by the Parliamentary Poet Laureate as Poem of the Month for Canada

  • Biographical listing in The World's Lawyer Poets from Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and Poetry based on research conducted by Professor James R. Elkins, College of Law, West Virginia University.

  • Featured in the The Globe and Mail online arts blog

  • Cited as a contributor to the Prakalpana Literary Movement in India

  • Chosen for Distinguished Achievement in Paradoxism and conferred an Honorary Membership in the International Association of Paradoxism - A Vanguard Movement in Arts and Science (University of New Mexico)

  • League of Canadian Poets' Poet-in-Residence (July 2011)

  • Poetry slated for translation into Russian and Japanese

  

Contests and Awards

  • First Place Winner of Newport Review Writing Contest - Poetry (judged by John Landry, Poet Laureate of New Bedford, Massachusetts)

  • A winner of the Great Canadian Haiku Contest (judging led by Penn Kemp, London ON Poet Laureate); Carr's poems were set to music by Juno-nominated singer-composer, Royal Wood, who performed this composition at London's Home County's Folk Festival; the concert was also featured on CHRW Radio

  • First Place Winner of Ohio Poetry Day Small Stuff Contest

  • Honorable Mention for Ohio Poetry Day Special Award

  • Honorable Mention for Ohio Poetry Day The Road Taken Contest

  • A winner of Crow Toes Quarterly We're Just Winging It Here Contest

  • Formerly one of three Canadian judges to adjudicate The League of Canadian Poets Poetic License Contest for Youth

  • Western Canadian Representative (one of three judges Canada-wide) to adjudicate the Ford & Jaguar Automotive Journalist of the Year Awards for two years.

 

Reviews   

"Fern G. Z. Carr's poems stand out in terms of imagery and creativity but even more so for her ability to elicit strong emotion from the reader.  Poetry often does this, but Ms. Carr takes it to the next level - the poems of hers that I read left me angry, saddened, and horrified.  But countering that were several poems that invoked whimsy and softness and delight.  It's truly a skilled poet who can explore the breadth of emotions while going as deep as she goes.  I am thrilled to be able to include her work in A Quiet Shelter There."  Gerri Leen ~ Editor, Hadley Rille Books     

  

"By turns elegant and whimsical, Fern G.Z. Carr creates original forms for her work that are organic to the poems, as well as precise, imaginative, and intriguing. She makes compelling poetry out of scientific fact, and we've been very pleased to include her voice multiple times in Verse Wisconsin."  Wendy Vardaman ~ Co-editor, Verse Wisconsin

 

"Being multilingual, Carr has a unique voice that she takes full advantage of.  She has an incredible message to deliver to her audience and the structure with which she delivers it is just as incredible."  Dr. Stacia Neeley ~ Editor, Aries (Texas Wesleyan University)

 

"Fern G. Z. Carr's poem 'Charm (a.k.a. Putting a Spin on Things)', one of the quark-named poems included in our joint issue on literature and science, stood out for its playful tone, its language, and the freshness of approach.  We liked that it made more than coincidental use of the particle fictions theme, though you don't have to fully understand the science to enjoy the poem."  Kim Jernigan (The New Quarterly) & Anita Lahey (Arc Poetry Magazine) ~ Co-editors, The QuArc Issue

 

"If Carr was not a poet, I imagine that she might be a potter, taking dull clumps of ordinary clay and transforming them into fascinating, polished and quirky pieces of art.  She certainly achieves a similar effect with language.  Carr clearly revels in the possibilities of language and through her poems, this joy becomes contagious.  Indeed, Carr's poetry has the delightful ability to take that which is familiar - even mundane - and refract that knowledge in wonderfully strange ways.  Innovative, yet free of pretensions, Carr's unique use of language and form invites us to enter a wonderland of the everyday in which we discover ourselves surrounded by more: more beauty, more charm and more humour."  Dr. Anne-Marie Lee-Loy ~ Editor, White Wall Review (Ryerson University)

 

"Fern G. Z. Carr is certainly a talented sculptor of words who has a way of moving the reader effectively.  Her pieces are poetic and lovely – some humourous, some clever compilations of contrast and some wonderfully haunting and sensual in their darkness.  In short, some great poetry."  Mark Leslie Lefebvre ~ Author, Editor and President of the Canadian Booksellers Association

                     

"What strikes me the most about Ms. Carr's craft is that as a translator of her own poems - as well as others' - she manages this delicate task with ease and is able to distil this almost-psychic ability in a cogent manner. Translating is extremely demanding yet Fern G. Z. Carr is a powerful symmetrist.  The poems I had the opportunity to read had a strange effect on me:  Carr allows you to see in the dark and experience the unbelievable. She has always transported me, as she will transport you, to new depths of thought and emotion with her powerful style."  Walter Ruhlmann ~ Translator, Writer, Publisher and Editor mgversion2>datura

 

Invitations

Poetry readings can be booked via this link:   Contact Fern G. Z. Carr

 

  • Yale University - New Haven CT, USA

  • Concordia University - Montreal QC, Canada

  • Ryerson University - Toronto ON, Canada

  • Okanagan Institute - Kelowna BC, Canada

  • Dowling College - Long Island NY, USA

  • National Council of Jewish Women - New York NY, USA

 

Interviews

  • Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television interview with Carr (in French)

  • Ryerson University The Eyeopener newspaper interview

  • The Centrifugal Eye journal interview

  • Room magazine interview

 

Sample Poems

More sample poems are located under Selected Publications.

 

Sample Translation

 

Locations Published

 

 

Outside North America

Australia: Melbourne, Victoria; Perth, Western Australia; West Hoxton, New South Wales;  England: Cambs; Leeds; Manchester;  Finland: Vantaa;  France: Nantes, Paris;  India: Calcutta, West Bengal;  Ireland: Riverside, County Sligo;  Israel: Jerusalem; Metulla;  Italy: Turin;  Mayotte Island (Mozambique Channel): Mamoudzou;  Mexico: San Miguel de Allende;  Nepal: Kathmandu;  New Zealand: Auckland;  Scotland: Rothesay;  South Africa: Cape Town;  Thailand: Banglamung;  Wales: Penyrheol, Caerphilly

USA

Alaska: Anchorage;  California: Del Mar; Los Angeles; Palm Springs; Rancho Santa Margarita; San Francisco;  Colorado: Wheat Ridge;  Connecticut: New Haven;  Illinois: Champaign;  Indiana: Muncie;  Kansas: Overland Park;  Louisiana: Metairie;  Minnesota: Perham; St. Paul;  New York: Jamaica; Mt. Marion; New York City; Northport (Long Island); Oakdale (Long Island);  Ohio: Tiffin;  Rhode Island: Newport;  Texas: Fort Worth;  Virginia: Norfolk;  Washington: Lacey;  West Virginia: Morgantown;  Wisconsin: Madison 

Canada

British Columbia: Kelowna; Richmond; Vancouver;  Manitoba: Miami; Winnipeg;  New Brunswick: Fredericton;  Ontario: Kingston; London; New Liskeard; Ottawa; Tecumseh; Toronto; Waterloo; Windsor;  Quebec: Montreal;  Saskatchewan: Battleford; Regina; Swift Current 

 

Selected Publications

Samples are representative of more than 120 publications world-wide.

Anthologies / Books

Exhibits

  • Vancouver Public Library Living Verse Wall
  • International Peace Festival - University of British Columbia Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
  • World Poetry Canada International Festival - Richmond Cultural Centre

Journals

Magazines

Newspapers

  • Art Times
  • The Bulletin
  • FreeXpresSion

Online

  

Philosophy

Dear Readers,

On a personal note, I would like to touch upon my philosophy of poetry.  It would be presumptuous to attempt to define the essence of this craft.  Poetry is so inherently subjective - one poem can have a profound impact on someone whereas another person might not even bother to finish reading the same piece.

In terms of my work, the poems I write often take on a life of their own.  Although I initially focus on particular topics or ideas, my poems sometimes decide to carry me off in a completely different direction.  That is perfectly fine. I just put myself in the hands of my little abductors and let them take me where they will.  I always fancy the literary ride.

I also enjoy composing poetry in different languages and then translating my poems into English.  I sometimes do the reverse, writing the English version first and then translating it into the foreign language of choice.  Both scenarios are different since every language offers its own rhythms and cadences which bring a certain musicality to the translation.

When I translate the work of other poets, I am always very attentive to nuances of meaning.  One of the advantages of translating my own work though, is that I know exactly what I intended.  This of course is subject to the interpretation of others.  Readers often come up with wonderful analyses that surprise and delight me.

I treasure my collection of poems written by other poets.  They span many eras and traverse many stylistic trends.  I have selected only the poems which affect me deeply - the pieces that linger in my consciousness long after I have finished reading them.  These poems give me pause to reflect upon the poet's philosophy, ingenuity and mastery of his craft.  Ideally, that is what I hope to achieve with my work.  If I am able to have that kind of effect on even one of my readers, then I will have accomplished what I have set out to do.

May your lives shine with poetry,

Fern G. Z. Carr

 

Contact

Please feel free to e-mail Fern with your comments, feedback and questions. 

Poetry readings can also be booked via this link:

Contact Fern G. Z. Carr

 

 

Welcome| Honours | Contests and Awards | Reviews | Invitations | Interviews | Sample Poems | Sample Translation | Locations Published | Selected Publications | Philosophy | Contact