Biography
Sheila Stewart's first collection of poetry, A Hat to Stop a Train, published in 2003 by Wolsak and Wynn, went into its second printing. Her second collection, The Shape of a Throat, was published by Signature Editions in 2012. In 2024, If I Write About My Father was published by Ekstasis Editions. She also co-edited a collection of poetry and essays, The Art of Poetic Inquiry (Backalong Books, 2012). Sheila’s poetry has been recognized by the gritLIT Contest, the Pottersfield Portfolio Short Poem Contest, and the Scarborough Arts Council Windows on Words Award. Her work has been widely published in Canada and she is published in Ireland and the US. Sheila grew up in Stratford, Waterloo, and Montreal. She taught in Libya and Swaziland and worked in adult literacy at Parkdale Project Read. Her PhD (OISE/UT) uses poetic inquiry to explore shame, grief, silence, and authority in writing. She is a Writing Studies faculty member at the New College Writing Centre at the University of Toronto and previously taught in Equity Studies, Community-Engaged Learning, and Women and Gender Studies. She loves teaching writing and thinking about learning. She can be found walking in High Park, along the shore of Lak Ontario, and at sheilastewart.ca