CELESTE SNOWBER
AUTHOR | PERFORMER | SPEAKER
"THERE IS A SCENT TO THE BODY'S KNOWING" - CELESTE SNOWBER
ABOUT
Celeste Nazeli Snowber, PhD is a dancer, poet, writer and award-winning educator. Her opus of multidisciplinary works has pioneered and instituted the importance of embodied forms of inquiry; the presence of the body within arts-based research, and its implications for writing, being, creating, teaching and living. The foundation of her research lies in the integration between body and mind, physicality and spirituality, with emphasis on connecting the personal and universal. The essence of her performative work centres around site specific performance and complete one-woman-shows that integrate comedy, contemporary dance and improvisation and how one lives a juicy life amidst complexities and wonder. As a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, Celeste is a sought-after mentor and has recently expanded her reach to write, speak and perform to wider audiences who long for the connections between authentic living, discovering voice, and exploring artistic expression in the midst of difficult times. Celeste’s publications include books, collections of poetry, as well as chapters and articles in scholarly books and journals. She has performed and spoken internationally for concert venues, galleries, museums, conferences, and in various outdoor spaces. Celeste’s SFU Faculty Website can be found HERE.
PROJECTS
Celeste's site-specific performance of dance and poetry in the natural world explores the relationship between ecology and the arts through a pedagogy of place. These sites are spaces between land and sea, including marine and shoreline parks to botanical gardens.
WRITING
BOOKS
THE MARROW OF LONGING
"Fragments can hold a world"
Snowber's deeply personal and interpersonal third book of poetry traces the inherited trauma of the Armenian genocide, memories of her ancestors, lessons learned in kitchen conversations, prayers in the night, and bodily yearnings. A descendent of genocide survivors, she explores relationships between longing, belonging, and identity to uncover universal themes that guide readers to what has shaped their own lives. The 54 poems are accompanied by 7 full-colour images by artist Marsha Nourtiza Odabashian.
Partial proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the Atken Armenian Foundation.
POETRY
BLUE WAITING
Collection of Poems with Sean Wiebe
Shortlisted for the Prince Edward Island Book Award, Blue Waiting is a collection of poems in conversation with small beauties formed through the geography of living. This geography takes shape in the edges of islands, mountains, families, and most of all the terrain of the inner life. The inner life is imbued with the details of ordinary life, where the contours of presence is unraveled in attention to what is in before us as humans.
"The writing is beautifully poised on moments when clear boundaries between self and world let lip, and admit again the onrush of magic." - Patrick Ledwell, author and performer.
Acorn Press Canada
CHAPTERS | ARTICLES
PRESS | INTERVIEWS
SFU RESEARCH ARTICLE
INTERVIEW FOR CBC NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Sheryl Mackay interviews Celeste about new book The Marrow of Longing.
LISTEN TO INTERVIEW HERE.
PODCAST INTERVIEW FOR JESUITS IN IRELAND
Pat Coyle interviews Celeste about the role of the body as central to how people live, move, breathe, question, and uncover passion and voice. This was in light of her performative presentation on 'Body, Spirituality and Passion: Embodied Ways of Inquiry in Vocation' at the international conference on Spirituality in Society and the Professions at Waterford Institute of Technology on 17 May 2019.
VANCOUVER COURIER ARTICLE
CREATE DON'T CLEAN: MULTI-GENERATIONAL ARTIST TRIO EMBRACES LIFE'S MESS
Review by Becca Clarkson of Perfect Imperfections: The Art of a Messy Life
INTERVIEW WITH SAD MAG
Web Editor Sarah Thompson chatted with multi-faceted artist, Celeste Snowber, about her upcoming collaborative show Perfect Imperfections. Celeste joined forces with JUNO nominated bassist Jodi Proznick and harpist Alexa Reimer to create a show about embracing messiness.
INTERVIEW FOR VANCOUVER SUN
ART OF A MESSY LIFE CELEBRATES IMPERFECTIONS
Shawn Conner interviews Celeste about the productions Perfect Imperfections: The Art of a Messy Life
FEATURE ARTICLE FOR TRI-CITY NEW
REVIEW BY LOOSE LIPS MAGAZINE OF PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS: THE ART OF A MESSY LIFE
Review by Elizabeth Holliday
VIDEOS
PHOTOS
