Priscila Uppal

Canadian poet, novelist, and writer (1974–2018)

Priscila Uppal FRSC

Born	(1974-10-30)October 30, 1974 Ottawa, Ontario
Died	September 5, 2018(2018-09-05) (aged 43) Toronto, Ontario
Occupation(s)	Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Professor

Academic background
Alma mater	York University (BA. Hons; Ph.D) University of Toronto (MA)
Academic work
Discipline	English studies
Institutions	York University

Priscila Uppal FRSC (October 30, 1974 – September 5, 2018)^[1] was a Canadian poet, novelist, fiction writer, and playwright.^[1] Her poetry addressed various social issues regarding "women, violence, sexuality, culture, religion, illness and loss."^[1]

Personal life and career

Uppal was born in Ottawa, Ontario, she graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1993. She earned her Honours Bachelor of Arts from York University in 1997, a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Toronto, and a Ph.D. from York University in 2004.^[2] Following graduation, she was a professor in the Department of English at York University in Toronto and taught literature and creative writing.^[3]

In 2007, her book of poetry Ontological Necessities was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize.^[4] Uppal's poetry collection Pretending to Die (2001) was shortlisted for the ReLit Award,^[1] and her memoir Projection: Encounters with My Runaway Mother was shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction in 2013.^[5] She served as the first poet-in-residence for the Rogers Cup Tennis Tournament in 2011.^[6] She was also the Olympic poet-in-residence at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and the 2012 London Summer Olympics.^[7] As a result of her role as the poet-in-residence for the London Summer Olympics, she was dubbed "Canada's coolest poet" by Time Out London magazine.^[7] Uppal also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2016.^[8]

Uppal died of synovial sarcoma on September 5, 2018^[9] after being diagnosed with the disease three years prior.^[1]

Awards and honours

Uppal became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2016.^[8]

Awards for Uppal's writing
Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2001	Pretending to Die	ReLit Award	Shortlist	^[1]
2007	Ontological Necessities	Griffin Poetry Prize	Shortlist	^[4]
2013	Projection	Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction	Shortlist	^[10]
2013	Projection	Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction	Shortlist	^[5]

Bibliography

Poetry

How to Draw Blood From a Stone, Exile Editions, Ltd. 1998. ISBN 978-1-55096-230-7.
Confessions of a Fertility Expert, Exile Editions, Ltd. 1999. ISBN 978-1-55096-550-6.
Pretending to Die, Exile Editions, Ltd. 2001. ISBN 978-1-55096-519-3.
Live Coverage, Exile Editions, Ltd. 2003. ISBN 978-1-55096-571-1.
Cover Before Striking, Lyricalmyrical Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-9736588-4-2
Holocaust Dream, MacLaren Arts Centre, 2005, ISBN 978-0-9693555-9-5 (photographs by Daniel Ehrenworth)
Ontological Necessities, Exile Editions, Ltd. 2003. ISBN 978-1-55096-045-7.
Traumatology, Exile Editions, 2010, ISBN 978-1-55096-139-3
Winter Sport: Poems, Mansfield Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-894469-49-4
Successful Tragedies, Bloodaxe Books, 2010, ISBN 978-1-85224-860-4

Fiction

The Divine Economy of Salvation, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2002, ISBN 978-1-56512-365-6; Doubleday Canada, 2003, ISBN 978-0-385-65805-8
To Whom It May Concern, Doubleday Canada, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-65993-2
Cover Before Striking, Dundurn Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-459-72952-0

Non-fiction

We Are What We Mourn, McGill–Queen's University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7735-3456-8
Projection, Dundurn Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-77102-274-3

Anthologies (as editor)

The Exile Book of Canadian Sports Stories, Exile Editions, 2010, ISBN 978-1-55096-125-6
The Exile Book of Poetry in Translation: Twenty Canadian Poets Take on the World, Exile Editions, 2009, ISBN 978-1-55096-122-5
Barry Callaghan: Essays on his Works, Guernica, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55071-253-7
Uncommon Ground: A Celebration of Matt Cohen – 2002 (edited with Graeme Gibson, Wayne Grady, and Dennis Lee)
Red Silk: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Women Poets, Mansfield Press, 2004, ISBN 978-1-894469-16-6 (edited with Rishma Dunlop)

Anthologies (as contributor)

Alphabet City 11: Trash
Body Language: A Head to Toe Anthology
Certain Things About My Mother: Daughters Speak
In the Dark: Stories from the Supernatural
Larger Than Life
Mentor's Canon: poems about / for / after writers
New Canadian Poetry
Writer's Gym

Plays

What Linda Said^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Davis, Charlene; Mcintosh, Andrew (2018-09-07). "Priscila Uppal". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
^ "Priscila Uppal". Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. York University. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
^ "Priscila Uppal | Canadian Writers in Person". Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
^ ^a ^b "Priscila Uppal". Griffin Poetry Prize. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
^ ^a ^b Carter, Sue (October 15, 2014). "Naomi Klein wins Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize". Quill and Quire. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
^ "Priscila Uppal | Asian Heritage in Canada". Archived from the original on 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
^ ^a ^b "Poet Priscila Uppal dies at 43 — 'a genuine spirit is gone' | The Star". thestar.com. 5 September 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
^ ^a ^b "Prof. Priscila Uppal elected as Fellow to Royal Society of Canada". York University. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
^ "Priscila Uppal, Canadian poet, dead at 43". CBC Books. September 5, 2018. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
^ "Past GGBooks winners and finalists". Governor General's Literary Awards. Archived from the original on 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
^ "What Linda Said". Summerworks Performance Festival. Archived from the original on 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2019-03-08.