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Leslie Greentree’s first book of poetry, guys named Bill (Frontenac House, 2002) was followed a year later by go-go dancing for Elvis (Frontenac House, 2003). In 2004, she won the CBC Poetry Face-off for Calgary, and competed in the National Face-off. ‘Fargo’s, Whyte Avenue’, a poem from go-go dancing for Elvis, was selected for inclusion in Writing Alberta: An Anthology by Dr. Robert Stamp (U of C Press). In spring 2006, Greentree published her first volume of short stories, entitled A Minor Planet for You.

As well as working full-time at Red Deer Public Library, Greentree does freelance writing and acts as associate editor for a Central Alberta cultural tabloid called artichoke. She has read across Alberta, as well as in Saskatoon, Humboldt and Toronto, and is a featured reader at the Moose Jaw Festival of Words this summer, and the South Country Fair in Fort McLeod, Alberta. She has also been a featured reader at various other literary festivals, including the popular Word on the Street Festival in Calgary. Greentree is one of several organizers of Crossing Place: Red Deer Writers’ Festival, a day-long literary festival featuring writers from Central Alberta and beyond. She serves on two cultural boards in Red Deer. Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Greentree earned a B.A. (English) and a B.Ed. at the University of Lethbridge.

See also: Griffin Trustee Robin Robertson, Griffin Poetry Prize 2004 shortlisted poets Leslie Greentree and David Kirby, and Griffin Poetry Prize 2003 shortlisted poet Gerald Stern were joined by the 2005 Canadian and International winners Roo Borson and Charles Simic on a triumphal tour to the Dublin Writers Festival in June, 2005. Leslie, David and Roo kept a lively blog of the trip, which you can read here.

go-go dancing for Elvis 2004 Shortlist

Frontenac House, Canada

Judges’ Citation

Leslie Greentree is a conversational poet whose artful talk is not afraid to engage any subject head-on.

Leslie Greentree is a conversational poet whose artful talk is not afraid to engage any subject head-on. Her unpretentious, sometimes comic, lower-case poems have an irresistible charm. They pull us into the funk and drama of her everyday experience and, further, into the center of her interior life.