McEWEN, Christian 1956-

PERSONAL: Born April 21, 1956, in London, England; daughter of Sir Robert McEwen (a barrister). Ethnicity: "Scots-Irish-English." Education: Kings College, Cambridge, B.A., 1979, M.A., 1984; University of California—Berkeley, M.A., 1982. Religion: "Buddhist pantheist." Hobbies and other interests: Nature writing, travel, poetry.

ADDRESSES: Home—41 Kopkind Rd., Guilford, VT 05301. Agent—Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary, 156 Fifth Ave., Suite 625, New York, NY 10010-7002. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Ban Noi Leprosy Mission, paramedical assistant in Thailand, 1974-75; Casa la Vida, Oakland, CA, counselor, 1981-82; creative writing teacher in London, England, including work at Fulham and South Kensington Adult Education Institute and Goldsmith's College, London, 1984-86; Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY, writing teacher and advisor to literacy program, 1986-88; Parsons School of Art and Design, New York, NY, adjunct faculty member, 1992-94; Lesley College, adjunct faculty member, 1996—. Eugene Lang College, adjunct faculty member, 1992-93; also teaches at Williams College. Roots and Branches Intergenerational Theater, writer, 1991-94.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright scholar, 1979; Lambda Literary Award, 1989; award from Fund for Poetry, 1991; resident at Yaddo Colony, Cummington Community of the Arts, Millay Colony, Hambidge Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Cottages at Hedgebrook, and MacDowell Colony.

WRITINGS:

(Editor and contributor) Naming the Waves: Contemporary Lesbian Poetry, Virago Press (London, England), 1988, Crossing Press (Trumansburg, NY), 1989.

(Editor, with Sue O'Sullivan, and contributor) Out theOther Side: Contemporary Lesbian Writing, Virago Press (London, England), 1988, Crossing Press (Trumansburg, NY), 1989.

(Editor) Jo's Girls: Tomboy Tales of High Adventure,True Grit, and Real Life, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1997.

(Editor, with Mark Statman, and contributor) The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing, Teachers & Writers Collaborative (New York, NY), 2000.

Work represented in anthologies, including Educating the Imagination: Essays and Ideas for Teachers and Writers; Love Poems by Women; My Lover Is a Woman: Contemporary Lesbian Love Poems; Out of the Class Closet: Lesbians Speak; and His Hands, His Tools, His Sex, His Press: Lesbian Writers on Their Fathers. Contributor of articles, short stories, poetry, and reviews to magazines and newspapers, including Granta, American Voice, Nation, and Village Voice.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Inheritance, a collection of personal essays; In the Wake of Home, a poetry collection; The Rory Stories: A Composite Biography.

SIDELIGHTS: Christian McEwen once told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is a desire to bridge past and present, Scottish childhood and North American adulthood; to tease out the giant conundrums of class, gender, and homophobia, and to make something sturdy and beautiful. Current influences include John Daniel, Adrienne Rich, Scott Russell Sanders, Alastair Reid, and the landscape of Scotland and western Ireland."