Cecily Nicholson facts for kids

Cecily Nicholson is a Canadian poet, arts organizer, and activist. She was born in Ontario but now lives in British Columbia. As a writer, Cecily has published several poetry books. She has also given public talks and worked with many community groups. She has helped manage art spaces like the Surrey Art Gallery and Gallery Gachet.

Cecily's Writing

Cecily Nicholson's writing often explores history and social justice. Her poems talk about how big businesses and old ways of settling land have affected the environment and people. She looks at how Black people and Indigenous communities have been moved from their homes.

She also writes about unfair treatment and systems that cause harm. But she also shows how these communities have found strength. They do this by telling their stories and showing great resilience.

Poetry Books

Cecily Nicholson has written four collections of poetry. These are books filled with her poems.

• Triage (2011)
• From the Poplars (2014)
• Wayside Sang (2017)
• Harrowings (2022)

Other Writing

Cecily has also written essays and poems for magazines like Canadian Art. She has contributed to other literary publications too.

Some of her works include "Porch Light, A Window," which is about a storefront that became a meeting place. She also wrote "summer barrels past" and "the poem is a score."

Helping Other Authors

Cecily was part of a team that helped create a special handbook for young activists. It was made with educator Matt Hern and young people from the Purple Thistle Center in Vancouver. This book included writings from famous people like Noam Chomsky.

• Stay Solid! A Radical Handbook for Youth (2013)

Awards and Recognition

Cecily Nicholson has won important awards for her poetry.

• In 2018, she won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry. This was for her book Wayside Sang. This is one of Canada's biggest literary awards.
• In 2015, she received the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. She won this for her book From the Poplars.

Her poetry collection Harrowings was also nominated for the 2023 Pat Lowther Award.

Writer in Residence Programs

Cecily has been invited to be a "Writer in Residence" at universities. This means she spends time there writing and teaching.

• In 2021, she was the Writer in Residence at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario.
• In 2017, she was the Ellen Warren Tallman Writer in Residence at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Art Exhibitions

Cecily has also helped organize and contribute to art exhibitions. These are shows where artists display their work.

2020 The Pandemic is a Portal

Cecily helped organize this exhibition at SFU Galleries. It explored how communities come together, especially during the global pandemic. Artists thought about how their responses to this time could help build new kinds of communities for the future.

2019 Estuary

This exhibition at the Nanaimo Art Gallery explored the idea of an "estuary." An estuary is where a river meets the sea. The show looked at the Nanaimo River Estuary, which is important to the Snuneymuxw First Nation. It also showed how industry has affected this natural place. Cecily contributed a small poetry book called Dregs Plume to this exhibition.

• Dregs Plume (2019)

2012 Anamnesia: Unforgetting

At VIVO Media Arts Centre, Cecily helped with an exhibition called Anamnesia: Unforgetting. She helped bring back old video documents from the 1970s. These videos showed important historical events, like the American Indian Movement stand at Wounded Knee. They also looked at prison activism and the civil rights movement.

Curatorial Work

Cecily has also worked as a curator, which means she helps choose and organize art for shows.

2011 Imminent Future series

Cecily helped plan a series of events at VIVO Media Arts Centre. One event, "NRAI: No Reading After the Internet," explored how art and activism can imagine future communities.

Public Speaking

Cecily often gives poetry readings and talks about her work. She speaks about her poems and her social justice efforts.

• In 2019, she gave a reading at Simon Fraser University.
• In 2019, she spoke at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
• In 2017, she gave a poetry reading at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.
• In 2012, she gave a "Lunch poems" reading at Simon Fraser University.

Other Projects

Cecily is involved in many community projects. From 2019-2020, she was on the Ethics Research Board for Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She has also worked with women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside since 2000. She even helped coordinate the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.

Press Release Poetry Collective

Cecily worked with the Press Release Poetry Collective. This group was formed before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. They wanted to look at the Olympics critically. They focused on how the media, advertising, and land rights of First Nations were affected by the event.

Safe Assembly project

In 2010, Cecily also took part in the Safe Assembly project. This project had readings and discussions about poetry and politics. It focused on protests against the Olympics in Vancouver.

Joint Effort

Cecily works with Joint Effort, a group that supports women in prison. This group helps connect women in prison with community organizations. They have programs like Books 2 Prisoners, which sends books to inmates.

No One Is Illegal Vancouver

Cecily has also helped No One Is Illegal. This group works for migrant justice in Vancouver. They research issues like immigration controls, unfair profiling, and difficult working conditions for migrants.