Janice Kulyk Keefer (born 2 June 1952) is a Canadian novelist and poet. Of Ukrainian heritage, Kulyk Keefer often writes about the experiences of first-generation Canadian children of immigrants.

Biography

She was born as Janice Kulyk on 2 June 1952 in Toronto, Ontario.^[1] She studied English literature at the University of Toronto, graduating with a BA.^[1] She then studied at the University of Sussex, where she received an MPhil and D.Phil.^[1] Following this, Keefer became an assistant professor of English studies at Université Sainte-Anne in Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia.^[1] She is a specialist in Modernist literature.^[1] In her literary work on Ukrainian-Canadian identity, she "rejects simplified notions of multiculturalism"^[1] in preference to a Ukrainian transnational identity.^[1] As of 2013^[update], she is a professor of literature and theatre in the graduate studies department at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario.^[1]

Her sister is the Canadian artist, Karen Kulyk and her son is the Decouple Podcast host Dr. Chris Keefer.

Awards and honours

• 1987 Governor General's Awards, nominated, Under Eastern Eyes
• 1988 Books in Canada First Novel Award, nominated, Constellations
• 1996 Governor General's Awards, nominated, The Green Library
• 1999 Marian Engel Award, lifetime achievement
• 2006 Greifswald Canadian Studies Fellow in Residence, University of Greifswald, Germany
• 2008 Kobzar Literary Award, The Ladies Lending Library