World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Heather Spears

ヘザー・スピアーズ

Hezā Supiāzu

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1934-09-29 （Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada）
Died
2021-04-15 （Copenhagen, Denmark） age 86
Nationality
Canada
Languages
English, Danish, Arabic
Residence History
Vancouver, Canada (1934-1962) → Bornholm, Denmark (1962- ) → Copenhagen, Denmark

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, artist, sculptor, educator
Active Years
1958-2021
Affiliations
Galleri Upper Canada
Memberships
League of Canadian Poets, Writers' Union of Canada, SF Canada, Society of Authors, Tegnernes Forbund

Education

Emily Carr University of Art and Design
Art Department
Period: 1950年代初頭
Country: Canada
Received formal art training
University of British Columbia
Art Department
Period: 1950年代
Country: Canada
Studied art
University of Copenhagen
Anatomy
Period: 1960年代以降
Country: Denmark
Studied anatomical drawing and Arabic
Panum Institute
Anatomy
Country: Denmark
Studied anatomical drawing

Awards

Pat Lowther Award
1987
Work: How to Read Faces
Organization: League of Canadian Poets
Result: winner
Pat Lowther Award
1989
Work: The Word for Sand
Organization: League of Canadian Poets
Result: winner
Pat Lowther Award
2000
Work: Required Reading
Organization: League of Canadian Poets
Result: winner
Governor General's Literary Award
1989
Work: The Word for Sand
Category: 詩部門
Organization: Canada Council for the Arts
Result: winner
Naji Naaman Literary Prize
2016
Work: Complete Works
Organization: Naji Naaman Literary Prizes
Result: 名誉賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Word for Sand

1988 Poetry

Poetry collection featuring themes of faces and sand. Winner of Governor General's Literary Award and Pat Lowther Award.

facessandhuman expressions

Drawings from the Newborn

1986 Drawings

Poems and drawings of infants in crisis.

premature infantsnewbornscrisis

Moonfall

1991 Science Fiction

First book in a science fiction trilogy about conjoined twins.

conjoined twinsSF

Drawn from the Fire – Children of the Intifada

1989 Drawings

Drawings of Palestinian children injured in the First Intifada.

warchildreninjury

Bibliography

  • Asylum Poems and Others (1958)
  • The Danish Portraits (1967)
  • From the Inside (1972)
  • How to Read Faces (1986)
  • The Word for Sand (1988)
  • Human Acts (1991)
  • The Panum Poems (1996)
  • Poems Selected and New (1998)
  • Moonfall (1991)
  • The Children of Atwar (1993)
  • The Taming (1996)
  • The Flourish: Murder in the Family (2003)
  • Drawings from the Newborn (1986)
  • Drawn from the Fire, Children of the Intifada (1989)
  • Massacre, Drawings from Jerusalem (1990)
  • Required Reading (2000)
  • Line by Line (2002)
  • The Creative Eye (2007)
  • I Can Still Draw (2008)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
fusion of poetry and artnon-genre poetrydescriptive style
Recurring Motifs
premature infantsinfants in crisischildbirthvictims of war

Legacy

Canadian-born poet, novelist, artist known for drawings of premature and crisis infants. Won multiple literary awards including Governor General's and Pat Lowther Awards. Lived in Denmark but contributed to Canadian literature. Archive at University of British Columbia.

Archives

  • University of British Columbia

Quotes

  • Premature babies have never been drawn before. In the time of the Masters, when they were studying human subjects these babies weren't around. Their movements are different, their shape is different—everything about them is different—so you can't use your knowledge of the human anatomy that you learned at school.
    Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal (1999)

Trivia

  • Began drawing at age 5.
  • Supported family by drawing tourist portraits in Denmark.
  • Owned Galleri Upper Canada in Copenhagen.
  • Drew injured Palestinian children during the First Intifada.