Ann Saddlemyer

Ann Saddlemyer is an internationally known expert in the field of Anglo-Irish literature. Among her most recent works are Becoming George: The Life of Mrs. W. B. Yeats (2002; rpt., 2003), which was shortlisted for the James Tait Black award for biography, and W. B. Yeats and George Yeats: The Letters (2011), both published by Oxford University Press.

Educated at the University of Saskatchewan (B.A., 1953), Queen’s University, Kingston (M.A., 1955), and Bedford College of the University of London (Ph.D., 1961), Ms. Saddlemyer taught at the University of Victoria in British Columbia until 1971, when she accepted appointments as Professor of Drama and Professor of English at the University of Toronto. In 1988, she was appointed Master of Massey College at that university, a position she held until her retirement.

In addition to her two Guggenheim Fellowships (1965 and 1977), her honors include the M. L. Rosenthal Award from the Yeats Society of New York (2001), for her contributions to Yeats studies; the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal (2002); the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012); honorary doctorates from Queen’s University (1977), the University of Victoria (1989), McGill University (1989), the University of Windsor (1990), the University of Toronto (1999), and Concordia University in Montreal (2000); and she was elected an Officer of the Order of Canada, which recognizes a lifetime of achievement and service. In 2008, Concordia University established the annual Ann Saddlemyer Lecture, and in 2011 she was elected an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy. She is also an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal Society of Arts.

Currently, Ann Saddlemyer is Director of both Colin Smythe Limited, Publishers, and the Hedgerow Press. She is also a Corresponding Scholar of the Academy of the Shaw Festival.