Anne-Marie (Murphy) Beattie
Categories: Female Authors - Anglophone Authors - Authors of Non-Fiction - Saint John River Valley
Source: Author / auteure
Biography
Anne-Marie Beattie, who often writes under her maiden name [Anne Murphy], is a native of the province of New Brunswick. She graduated from Canterbury Regional High School. After graduating from Teachers College, she attended UNB before graduating from Trent University with a degree in Indigenous Studies.
Beattie's inspiration for her stories reflects a backwoods raising and a storyteller father. The humble beginnings of her childhood and the voice of the vernacular drive her stories, always of a simple folk of a simple nature. She has enjoyed publication in the Toronto Star, Macleans and in New Brunswick publications, the Telegraph-Journal, the Daily Gleaner and The Nashwaak Review.
Writing under her maiden name, she had The Wheelchair Warrior and Women of Western New Brunswick released in 2012 and 2023, respectively. She is awaiting publication of her most recent book on the dancehalls of NB in May 2025.
Beattie lives in Oshawa with her husband Jim, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
How has New Brunswick influenced your work?
New Brunswick is ALL I write about.
As I was born, raised, and educated in New Brunswick. That is my frame of reference. I believe that one's youth and background and the people who were present when growing up - all of those influences - provide the frame of reference for writing.
To explain further: I was raised in a village placed on the map by the CPR [Canadian Pacific Railway]. Seven trains roared through our village on a daily basis. Our house was scant yards from the tracks. My world was composed of the water tower, the reservoir, the train station, the tar smell of the rail ties in summer heat and the blast of an approaching locomotive.
My father was a great storyteller and he told of the swinging twenties which descended into the hungry thirties. The stories never left me and have been recaptured in the series I wrote [called] The Sawmill Years and the Rum Running Series
.What is your favourite New Brunswick book, and why?
I Wish to Keep a Record: Nineteenth Century New Brunswick Women Diarists and Their World by Gail G. Campbell, because anyone who is inspired by a book should always give credit to the inspiration. It was Ms. Campbell who inspired me to capture the stories of women who should have gone down in history but instead faded into anonymity because no one wrote their stories.
I also admire and respect Fiddling in New Brunswick by Gary Copeland, not for its riveting prose but for its dedication to historic record which would be lost to the landfills. Very seldom do the descendants of any person, whether plumber, carpenter, singer, or poet laureate, extol their attributes. Quite often their stories are written by non-relatives.
What do you consider to be the highlight of your career so far?
Publishing four books.
I [recently] sent my fourth book [Dance, Dancehalls, and the Music of New Brunswick] to my editor. [Its publication is anticipated for May 2025.] The other three are:
- The Horse Doctor
- The Wheelchair Warrior (2021) – [about] a Fredericton resident, disabled at 15, achieving international status.
- Women of Western New Brunswick (2023)
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Literary Prizes |
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| Third Place, Douglas Kyle Memorial Prize, Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Writing Competition - 2021 | In recognition of: The Songwriter |
| Honourable Mention, David Adams Richards Prize, Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Writing Competition - 2021 | In recognition of: In the Shadow of Secrets |
| Honourable Mention, National Capital Writing Contest - Short Story - 2018 | In recognition of: The Reservoir Man |
| Honourable Mention, PWAC-Southwest NB Prize for Narrative Non-Fiction, Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Writing Competition - 2016 | In recognition of: Strangle Hold |
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Featured Publication |
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Women of Western New Brunswick (2023) |
Excerpt: AIDA MCCANN FLEMMING, wife of the 24th Premier of New Brunswick Bestowed with an MC, she became a member of the Order of Canada in 1978 for "her many services to the community of Fredericton." But she is most renowned for founding the Kindness Club, an organization dedicated to protecting animals, which now has branches in twenty-two countries. Alden Nowlan's A Poem for Aida Flemming was published in 1982. For an infant who lost her mother at two months, lost her father at the tender age of eleven, and suffered the heartbreak of two divorces, Aida Flemming made substantial contributions to the betterment of her fellow human beings. She may have held the conviction: “To whom much is given, much is expected." Aida McAnn Flemming undoubtedly exceeded expectations. |
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Find this author in the New Brunswick public libraries catalogue.
Source(s): Author.
