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Karen Marie Connelly

かれん・まりー・こねりー

Karen Marie Connelly

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1969-03-12 （Calgary, Alberta, Canada）
Nationality
Canadian
Languages
English, Thai, French, Spanish, Greek, Burmese
Residence History
Calgary, Alberta, Canada → Thailand → Spain → France → Greece (Lesbos) → Near Thai-Burmese border → Toronto, Canada → Lesvos, Greece

Career

Occupations
writer, poet, editor, psychotherapist
Active Years
1990-
Affiliations
University of Guelph, Humber School for Writers, The Writers' Union of Canada, PEN Canada
Memberships
PEN Canada
Nominations
Shortlisted, Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction (2010) – Burmese Lessons, Shortlisted, B.C. National Award for Non-fiction (2009) – Burmese Lessons, Shortlisted, Kiriyama Prize (2005) – The Lizard Cage, Shortlisted, Bisexual Book Awards (2018) – The Change Room

Awards

Pat Lowther Award
1991
Work: The Small Words in My Body
Organization: League of Canadian Poets
Result: 受賞
Governor General’s Award for English-language non-fiction
1992
Work: Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal
Organization: Canada Council for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Orange Broadband Prize for New Writers
2007
Work: The Lizard Cage
Result: 受賞
National Magazine Award
2000
Result: ゴールド
National Magazine Award
2013
Result: ゴールド

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Lizard Cage

2005 Fiction

A novel set in a Myanmar prison, depicting the struggles and resistance of political prisoner musician Handsome.

human rightsoppressionresistanceMyanmar politics

Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal

1992 Creative nonfiction

A journal of her exchange scholarship experiences in Thailand.

cross-cultural experiencetravelyouth

Burmese Lessons

2010 Memoir

Memoir of her time near the Thai-Burmese border, working with dissidents and a love story.

human rightsexilecross-cultural romance

The Change Room

2017 Fiction

A novel examining issues of gender and sexuality.

gendersexuality

Bibliography

  • The Small Words in My Body (1990)
  • This Brighter Prison: A Book of Journeys (1993)
  • The Disorder of Love (1997)
  • The Border Surrounds Us (2000)
  • Grace and Poison (2001)
  • Come Cold River (2013)
  • The Lizard Cage (2005)
  • The Change Room (2017)
  • Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal (1992)
  • One Room in a Castle (1995)
  • Burmese Lessons: A Love Story (2010)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical prosetravelogue narrativepoetic expression
Recurring Motifs
cross-cultural themeshuman rightsexileGreek rural lifetrauma recovery

Legacy

Canadian writer and poet renowned for works drawing on experiences in Thailand, Greece, Myanmar, etc., winner of Governor General's Award and Orange Prize for New Writers. Also practices as a psychotherapist.

Trivia

  • Married to Korean-Canadian architect Robert Chang since 2005; they have one young adult son.
  • Learned Thai during high school exchange in Thailand.
  • Hosts writing and healing retreats in a family olive grove on Lesvos, Greece.