Ali Pinkney is a literary writer invested in poetics. She is based on Tiohtià:ke, the unceded territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Nation known as Montréal. There, she pursues a Master of Arts in English Literature at Concordia University with the class of 2021.
"[Tampion] is a book from a new author full of potential, a book that is fresh, bursting with odd situations, quirky angles and fractured narrative. And sombre. Death haunts the pages, and the vulnerability of the left, left to recall - the ghosts of experience/ story. [...] the book is an engaging read, well written, and highly recommended."
- Sacha Archer
Reader Review on
Goodreads 2014
"The dictionary defines Tampion as the stopper for a gun. And although the frenetic style of Ali Pinkney’s chapbook shouldn’t be restrained, the title does serve as a safety catch to contain her poems. Death and how to eclipse it, is a game Pinkney plays. In “Hier soir,” when Baby asks the poetic speaker, “People don’t die, right?” she is assured “No” (54). [...] Further the Ouija game of spelling words out, focuses attention on writing as a craft. And in turn, this self-referentiality adds vitality to the poems. Writing becomes creation. Creation is life. You should see Pinkney on stage, she resuscitates words through performance."
- Klara du Plessis, author of Ekke. From Resonance Café reviews, Echo
"Ali Pinkney’s book Tampion is the one I feel closest to as an editor. Putting Tampion together was the most challenging of all the books, but in turn also the most rewarding. [Ali] really strengthened me as an editor. This book is wrought with emotion and sentiment and is ominous, unique and captivating. It would fit well with readers who enjoy Anne Sexton or Sylvia Plath."
Ali Pinkney
Sample works
She holds her year's David McKeen Award (2020); Steinberg Scholarship (2019); and Fellowship with the Faculty of Arts and Science (2019). Each award recognizes her academic excellence and the competitively adjudicated merit of her creative writing. Ali also holds a variety of research and teaching duties with Concordia University's Department of English.
Her first fiction novella Roadkill Croque Monsieur is set for publication with Bad Books Press for 2021. Her experimental work Tampion was published in 2014 as part of the inauguration of Metatron Press and is still available with the publisher electronically. Sharp Dogs with Pale Eyes (release TBD), her first full length poetry manuscript, has been supported by the Concordia & Montréal creative writing communities; and through residencies & grants with The Banff Centre (Alberta, 2018); CALQ (Quebec, 2019); and The Home School Hudson (New York, 2019).
This site hosts Ali's hyperlinked literary/academic CV and a running gallery from ten years of involvement in literary communities centered in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal and Tkaronto/Toronto, and more recently abroad (links at top).
You may e-mail her:
