Fonds MsC-33 - Sharon Thesen fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Sharon Thesen fonds

General material designation

  • Multi-media

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Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

MsC-33

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Edition statement

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • [196?]-2012 (Creation)
    Creator
    Thesen, Sharon

Physical description area

Physical description

2.43 m of multi-media records

79 photographs:
31 color photographs
33 black & white photographs
3 contact sheets
12 color slides

70 film negatives

7 black & white screen printed paper prints

1 colour paper print

4 book cover proofs

8 - 3 1/2 x 4 inch computer disks

9 cassette tapes

1 microfiche: 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm

1 pin

1 small tree branch

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1946-)

Biographical history

Sharon Thesen, also known as Sharon Fawcett, was born in Saskatchewan on October 1, 1946. She is a Canadian poet who lives in Lake Country, British Columbia. A graduate of Simon Fraser University (B.A. English, 1970 and M.A. English, 1975), in the late 1960s and early 1970s she was involved in the production of Iron magazine (1967?-1971) edited by her then-husband Brian Fawcett and others. She also participated in the production of Iron II (1975-1976), edited mainly by Brett Enemark. Thesen taught for many years at Capilano College in North Vancouver, where she edited The Capilano Review. She also took part in a teaching exchange with Dawson College (1980) and was a writer-in-residence at Concordia University (1992). In 2003, Thesen was a judge for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She taught Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan) from about 2005 until her retirement in 2012. Since then, she has been teaching poetry through her own Pinecone Poetry Workshops.

Thesen has been nominated and has won several awards for her writing, including the Governor General's Literary Award in poetry for "Selected Poems: The Vision Tree" (1982, won; 1984 & 1987, nominated), the BC Book Award for "News and Smoke: Selected Poems" (2000, won), and the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for "A Pair of Scissors: Poems" (2001, won).

Sharon Thesen's bibliography includes the following books:
The Wig-Maker (co-written by Janet Gallant). New Star Books, 2021.
The Receiver. Vancouver: New Star Books, 2017.
Oyama Pink Shale. Toronto: Anansi, 2011.
From Toledo. (Chapbook). Prince George, BC: Gorse Press, 2007.
Scrap Book. (Chapbook). Edmonton, AB: The Olive Reading Series Collective, 2006.
Weeping Willow. (Chapbook). Vancouver: Nomados, 2005.
The Good Bacteria. Toronto: Anansi, 2005.
A Pair of Scissors. Toronto: Anansi, 2000.
News & Smoke, Selected Poems. Vancouver: Talon, 1999.
Aurora. Toronto: Coach House, 1995.
Po-It-Tree: A Selection of Poems and Commentary. (Chapbook). Burnaby: SFU, 1992.
The Pangs of Sunday, Selected Poems. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1990.
The Imagination of Awakening. Monograph. Archai 2, 1973.The Beginning of the Long Dash. Toronto: Coach House, 1987.
Confabulations: Poems for Malcolm Lowry. Lantzville, BC: Oolichan, 1984.
Holding the Pose. Toronto: Coach House, 1983.
Sheet Music. (Chapbook). Burnaby: SFU, 1982.
Radio New France Radio. (Chapbook). Vancouver: Slug Press, 1981.
Artemis Hates Romance. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1980.

She has also been an editor for the following books:
After Completion: The Later Letters of Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff. With Ralph Maud. Talon Books, 2012.
The New Long Poem Anthology, 2nd Ed. Talon Books, 2001.
Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff: A Modern Correspondence. With Ralph Maud. Wesleyan U. Press, 1999.
The New Long Poem Anthology. House of Anansi Press, 1991.

Please note: this bibliography was taken directly from poetrycanada.org, with addendums of publication dates for edited books and addition of Janet Gallant as co-author of The Wig Maker by the archivist.

Custodial history

The records were in the custody of Sharon Thesen until their donation to Simon Fraser University Library, Special Collections and Rare Books.

Scope and content

This fonds illustrates Sharon Thesen’s work as a poet, writer, and teacher, and also contains records pertaining to her personal life in terms of finances and relationships. It has been broken down into six series: Correspondence, Writing, Writing by Others, Teaching & Events, Personal Records, and Publications. The arrangement is as follows:

Series 1: Correspondence

Series 2: Writing
Sub-series: Drafts, Edits & Typescripts
Sub-series: Reviews and Interviews
Sub-series: Awards: Judging and Nominations

Series 3: Writing by Others
Sub-series: Typescripts
Sub-series: Reviews, Interviews & Articles

Series 4: Teaching & Events

Series 5: Personal Records
Sub-series: Financial Records
Sub-series: Ephemera
Sub-series: Personal Photos
Sub-series: Life Events

Series 6: Publications

Fonds consists of correspondence, written works by Thesen and other writers, photographs, and other records accumulated by Thesen between [197-?] and 2000. Records include correspondence, poems, reviews, and other written works, notes, a notebook, magazine & newspaper clippings, photographs, a small branch, a color print on paper, cassette tapes, personal and financial records, teaching materials, computer disks, screen printed paper prints, and event promotional materials & invitations.

Notes area

Physical condition

Many items of facsimile correspondence are fading.

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

An unknown archivist or librarian from Simon Fraser University had already gone through materials from the first accrual and sorted them into archival boxes. It is unclear whether the folders in the boxes were kept in Thesen’s original order or whether the individual who put the material into boxes sorted items based on their own knowledge of the records. Additionally, please note that the previous archivist or librarian put some correspondence records in a loose chronological order, though the chronology is not always exact. The first accrual is contained in boxes 1 through 13 and the second accrual is contained in boxes 14 through 21.

Due to time constraints, the correspondence from the second accrual was not put in alphabetical order by sender. Additionally, the physical received order was maintained as the original order for the second accrual.

Language of material

  • English
  • French

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

The following files are restricted and cannot be accessed without the permission of Sharon Thesen or her assignee:
Correspondence series: Clark, S. Dale (MsC-33-0-1-0-0-21)
Correspondence series: Thompson, Peter (MsC-33-0-1-0-0-75)

The following files contain sensitive personal information and cannot be accessed without a researcher agreement:
Correspondence series: Correspondence (Folder 4 of 11) (MsC-33-0-1-0-0-108)
Correspondence series: Nick/Nicholas (Cifarelli) (MsC-33-0-1-0-0-117)
Correspondence series: Correspondence (Folder 11 of 12) (MsC-33-0-1-0-0-123)
Reviews, Interviews & Articles series: Clippings (MsC-33-0-3-2-0-7) & Events series: Montreal Exchange (MsC-33-0-4-0-0-1)
Teaching & Events series: Sage Hill/Sask/summer (MsC 33-0-4-0-0-2)
Personal Records series: Financial (MsC-33-0-5-1-0-1)

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

The fonds contains copyright-protected materials. Special Collections and Rare Books makes copies available for private study or research purposes under the fair dealing provisions of Canada's Copyright Act. Use for any other purpose may require the permission of the copyright owner. SCRB can assist researchers in attempting to identify copyright owners, but it is the user's responsibility to contact owners and secure any permissions.

Finding aids

Printed inventory available.

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Further accruals expected.

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Status

Published

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Created May 20, 2014, LZ
Revised March 15, 2023, Shelley Jennings

Language of description

  • English

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