Name Alice Azure | Role Poet | |
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Alice Azure (born July 30, 1940 in North Adams, Massachusetts) is a poet and writer of Mi’kmaq Métis descent. Her roots are in the Kespu'kwitk District of Nova Scotia. She is a member of the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers and the St. Louis Poetry Center.
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Biography
Azure's father, Joseph Alfred Hatfield, was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, but grew up in northern Maine and New Hampshire. He was of French, Dutch, and Mi'kmaq descent. Azure's mother, Catherine Pedersen, was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, but spent her formative years in Mandal, Norway from about 1924 to 1934. She was of Norwegian descent. At the age of seven, family strife sent Azure and her siblings to live in the Cromwell Children’s Home in Connecticut. Azure lived there from 1951 to 1959. She attended the University of Iowa, earning an M.A. degree in urban and regional planning.
Azure has been married twice. She married Tom Liljegren in 1960, and they had three children, Kathryn, Michael, and Patti. After twenty years of marriage, they divorced. Her second husband, Alec Azure, died after only two and a half years of marriage. Through her grief, Azure devoted more of her time to writing. Before she began writing, Azure worked for the United Way, starting as a volunteer in 1975, then as a professional in 1979. Except for a four-year period from mid-1990 to 1994, she remained a community planner in various local United Ways until her retirement January 2006.
She currently lives in Maryville, Illinois.
Discovering her ancestry
Azure was, for a long time, unclear about her familial roots, and did not know to which tribe she belonged. After searching for 35 years, she wrote a memoir, Along Came A Spider, about her life and the struggles she went through to discover her ancestry. After years of research, a visit to Nova Scotia, and alliances with Metis groups in Nova Scotia, Azure was finally able to discover many of her old ancestors, dating as far back as the 17th century. Along her journey, Azure also discovered her spiritual guide, Grandmother Spider. Azure speaks with Grandmother Spider throughout her memoir, who provides inspiration and tranquility.
Azure has been granted recognition of aboriginal status as an Acadian descendant in Nova Scotia by the Association des Acadiens Metis-Sourquois (salt water people), who are located in Saulnierville, Digby County, Nova Scotia.
Featured writing
Azure's work has been featured in many journals and magazines, including