About Kath

Recognized as one of Edmonton’s most eclectic poet-performers for many years, Kath MacLean’s unique muse and creative delivery attract attention wherever she reads. Known for rich images, “breath-taking lyricism” and musicality, her award-winning poetry, prose, and non-fiction has generated critical acclaim across Canada and abroad.

Praised by the likes of Al Purdy, Judith Fitzgerald, George Elliot Clarke, and Robert Kroetsch, Kath’s first book For a Cappuccino on Bloor was the recipient of the New Muse Award and was short-listed for the Kalamalka Press New Writers Competition. Her films and dramatic performances also earned her the Anne Green Award for best multi-genre artist in Canada in 2011.

Kath’s poetry has been broadcast on CBC Radio, and she’s been a popular guest on arts and entertainment radio shows from coast to coast when touring her work. In March 2011, Kath was chosen as the only prairie poet to compete in Toronto's prestigious Battle of the Bard at Harbourfront. Since then she has performed her work on Katherine Mansfield (Kat Among the Tigers) in France and in Eastern Europe, and participated in arts and film festivals across Canada and the United States.

In Translating Air, (MQP, 2018) Kath brings to life modernist writer, Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) and imagines conversations between her and Freud during their sessions together in Vienna during the 1930s.

Formerly a professor of creative writing at Grant MacEwan University & the University of Alberta, Kath now teaches kindergarten with the Toronto District School Board. She has also had the opportunity to serve as Writer in Residence for the Canadian Author's Association (Edmonton Branch), the Kalamalka Press and Mackie House (Vernon, B.C.), and at the Al Purdy A-frame (Ameliasburgh, Ontario) as well as mentor at the Writer's Guild of Alberta.

A resident of Edmonton for over 20 years, Kath recently returned to Toronto where she was born and raised.