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c/o Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia
Heather Pyrcz was born in B.C. and raised in Ottawa, Whitehorse and Churchill. She received a B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of Alberta, and an M.A. in English Literature from Acadia University. She has taught grades 2-6 and was an instructor and faculty consultant for the University of Alberta. A mother of two, she has spent the last 20 years with her family in Wolfville, where she taught creative writing and introductory English part time at Acadia University. Gaspereau Press has published three of her books of poetry, Town Limits, Nights on Prospect Street and Viaticum. She has also published A Digital History of Canadian Poetry for the League of Canadian Poets' website, and two books from Oxford University Press: The Canadian Oxford Guide to Writing 2nd Editionwith Thomas Kane (2008), and Writing with Style (2010).
Heather has published in anthologies and literary journals across the country. Her poems may be heard on CBC radio and The National Gallery Auto guide. She has read widely in Canada including Victoria, Harbourfront in Toronto, Ottawa, St. John, Charlottetown, Halifax, St. Johns, and on university campuses in the Maritimes. She is also a member of WITS and is enjoying her school visits immensely.
Currently, she is completing a fantasy trilogy, and anew book of poems with west coast artist Ted Colyer, which will be available shortly.
- Viaticum.. Gaspereau Press, 2002. ISBN 1-894031-57-1
- "With this collection of lovely, evocative poems (in a stunningly elegant volume from Gaspereau Press), Pyrcz has indeed given us an elemental provision for the journey." - Sandra Berry, Atlantic Books Today.
- "Viaticum is Pyrcz's version of TS Eliot's Four Quartets: the achievement of holistic peace after facing strife in the world and personal struggle. Pyrcz's vision moves outward from Prospect Street, Wolfville to the cosmos, and then inward." - George Elliot Clarke, The Sunday Herald.
- "[Pyrcz is] one of those poets who can best be described most accurately when compared to other poets. She has something of Jan Zwicky's gift for applying the philosophical to the poetic and something of Stephanie Bolster's skill at reviving touchstone figures from the 19th century. Which of course isn't to say that she isn't her own woman; she is. There is a self assurance here - nearly always appealing and seldom showy - that sucks you into her world." - George Fetherling, Vancouver Sun.
- Nights on Prospect Street. Gaspereau Press, 1999. ISBN 1-894031-17-2.
- "Pyrcz's poetry is the outward evidence of an inner reality. Nights on Prospect Street is a revelation, a work of originality and strong craftsmanship. It will endure." - Len Gasparini, The Toronto Star.
- "Divided into eight sections, Nights is full of surprises. Pyrcz edges from the tiny beauty of the elegy 'For John Thompson' -"some nights poetry is not enough" - to the Manhattan bebop glamour of New York. This is a collection to buy, debate, ponder and savour." - George Elliot Clarke, Chronicle Herald.
- Town Limits. Gaspereau Press, 1997. ISBN 1-894031-03-2
- "Pyrcz's determination is clear, her talent obvious. And in this first crop of poems, her craft enables her to leap boundaries-and land squarely on her feet." - Carol Bruneau, Atlantic Books Today.
- Gaspereau Gloriatur Liber Beati Anni Decimi Volume 1 Poetry. Gaspereau press, 2007.
- The Common Sky: Canadian Writers Against the War. Ed. Michael Higgins et al. Three Square Press, 2003.
- Larger Than Life. Ed. Roger Bell. Black Moss Press, 2002.
- Mentor's Canon. Ed. Kemeny Babineau. Broken Jaw Press, 2001.
- Landmarks. Ed. Hugh MacDonald and Brent MacLaine. Acorn Press, 2001.
- Words Out There. Ed. Jeanette Lynes. Roseway, 1999.
