McCallion, Jean
Biography
Born Jean Beulah Bacon in North Bay, one of the gateways to Northern Ontario, Jean McCallion was raised in Toronto and attended Western Avenue Public School and Humberside Collegiate Institute, completing her secondary schooling at Sudbury High School. She received an Honours English B.A. and an M.A. from McMaster University where she also met and married William James McCallion. She is the mother of four grown children and a grandmother, and she is the author of two books of poems: APPLE LOVE (South Western Ontario Poetry, 1981) and TOUGH ROOTS (Penumbra Press, 1987). TOUGH ROOTS was inspired by her discovery of her Welsh great-grandparents' graves in the Lake Rousseau area, where they had settled in 1868. It is the story in poetry of their attempt to make a living, to take up the bone-breaking tasks of felling trees, burning slash, uprooting stumps, and building roads. In recording the exchange of hardships and dreams, she accurately identifies the frustrations and farewells. Jean McCallion's writing has been published in several periodicals and anthologies in Canada and London, England and she has read her work on radio and television. She is a past chairperson of the Hamilton & Region Arts Council Literary Committee and a member of the Tower Poetry Society.
Other Information
Related Websites or Blogs
Jean McCallion at Tower Poetry Society website
Published Work
2005. Love letters to Bill. Manutick, ON : Penumbra Press. (Poetry),
1992. A Short history of the Tower Poetry Society, 1951-1991.Dundas, Ont. : Tower Poetry Society. (Nonfiction)
1987. Tough roots. Kapuskasing, Ont. : Penumbra Press. (Poetry)
1981. Apple love. London, Ont.: South Western Ontario Poetry. (Poetry)
