MFA in Writing Grad Leah MacLean-Evans wins National Broadsheet Contest

Leah Maclean-Evans (MFA '16) has won the League of Canadian Poets’ National Broadsheet Contest with her poem 'Name Me After A Fish'. 

In an interview with the League of Canadian Poets, she spoke about her inspiration for the piece:

"I’m a survivor of sexual assault and a feminine-presenting cis-woman, and I’ve often felt that I’m seen as a woman first and a person second. In our culture, that can be dangerous. And then, as a kid I used to keep fish. I think the less human-like an animal is, the less of ourselves we project onto them, including our beliefs around gender. This poem is a wish to be seen for all the parts of myself, even those that fall outside the traditional bounds of my gender, like autonomy and resilience."

You can read her award-winning poem here.

In addition to literary bylines in On Spec Magazine, Qwerty, ottawater, untethered and other journals, her web copy has been published by The Globe and Mail, the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild and the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance. In 2017, she won First Place for Fiction in the Blodwyn Memorial Award.

Congratulations to Leah on her achievement!