Suburban Legends

Joan Crate was born in Yellowknife, but grew up moving around BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan. A high-school drop-out, she eventually graduated with an honours BA and an MA in English, both from the University of Calgary. Her first poetry collection, Pale as Real Ladies: Poems for Pauline Johnston, has become a classic. Her novel Breathing Water was shortlisted for both the Commonwealth Book Award (Canada) and the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and her novel Black Apple won the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize. Crate lives with her family in Calgary.