Inspired by stories heard from her husband's family, Pamela Porter's second junior novel, The Crazy Man (Groundwood, 2005), told in free verse, explores the aftermath of a Saskatchewan family's disintegration in 1965. It was accorded the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature (English text) as well as the $20,000 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award. In this story, twelve-year-old Emaline is injured in an accident with a tractor driven by her father. Grief-stricken and guilty, her father leaves Emaline and her mother to fend for themselves. Much to the disapproval of neighbours, Emaline's mother hires a friendly, red-haired giant from the local mental hospital, Angus, whom local kids teasingly call the gorilla. As the "crazy man" of the title, he helps Emaline overcome her despair.

Porter's first children's novel, Sky (Groundwood, 2004), concerns an eleven-year-old girl on the Blackfeet Reservation in 1964. Based on a true story told to Porter by her Métis friend Georgia Salois, Sky recalls a terrible flood and a young girl's relationship with a foal that survived it. Porter's first poetry collection is Stones Call Out (Coteau, 2006).

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on July 14, 1956, Pamela Porter of Sidney, B.C., has also lived in Texas, Louisiana, Washington and Montana. Her husband's family has operated a family farm near Weyburn, Saskatchewan, for generations. Having gained her undergraduate English degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana, Pamela Porter has taught writing to adults at the tribal school on the Saanich peninsula. Her poem Borealis was one of five finalists for the Canada Writers CBC Poetry Prize in 2013. Five English and five French texts were selected from over 2,000 works of poetry that were submitted from across the country.

BOOKS:

Sky (Groundwood, 2004). Illustrated by Mary Jane Gerber.

The Crazy Man (Groundwood, 2005).

Stones Call Out (Coteau, 2006).

Yellow Moon, Apple Moon (Groundwood, 2008) Illust. by Matt James. $17.95 978-0--88899-776-0

Cathedral (Ronsdale, 2010). $15.95 978-1-55380-106-1

No Ordinary Place (Ronsdale, 2012) $15.95 978-1-55380-151-1

Late Moon (Ronsdale 2013) $15.95 978-1-55380-236-5

House Made of Rain (Ronsdale 2014)$15.95 978-1-55380-341-6

Defending Darkness (Ronsdale 2016) $15.95 978-1-55380-470-3

Likely Stories (Ronsdale 2019) $17.95 978-1-55380-590-8

[BCBW 2019] "Kidlit" "Poetry"