Anna Blackmore is a Polish-Canadian poet, writer, and musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance on the baritone saxophone from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Arts in English literature from UBC. Her master’s thesis titled “The Blues: Intersections between Black art forms and Post-Emancipation American Literature” brought together her love for academic writing, history, and the origins of Jazz music. Other publications include poetry in the U of M’s Arts Tribune, an article in the late Dig! Magazine, a spoken word video on YouTube with 577K views (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaXAYY_OLM0&t=6s), and a variety of reviews and music projects on her WordPress blog that sorely needs updating: https://amblackmore.wordpress.com/blog/
In her poetry, Anna focuses on Polish-Canadian identity as a second-generation Canadian, matrilineage and family relations, and the natural landscapes of the West Coast and Canadian Prairies. She is currently working on a collection of poems dedicated to the Polish-Canadian experience including early settler stories, re-imaginings of Slavic folklore, and explorations of family and tradition.
In May 2025, Anna curated and ran Jesteśmy! (translation: “we are here”), a poetry reading with the theme of Polish families at Ogniwo Polish Museum for Polish Heritage Month. Featuring notable poet Ron Romanowski and others, the event was a great success with many readers sharing their work. Anna has also shared her settler-related poetry at the Cooks Creek Heritage Museum Fundraising Dinner in September 2025, and honed her craft through poetry workshops held by McNally Robinson and Plume Winnipeg.
Anna is very excited to become a recent member of the MBWG, as it feels like a homecoming and a promise to her childhood self who always dreamed of being a writer. She is enjoying getting to know the poetry critique circle and sharing her work every month. When she’s not writing, Anna enjoys reading, watching classic films, playing saxophone and clarinet, composing music for her Jazz quintet, yoga, and getting out into nature.