Writing and Translation:
Jessica Moore is an author and Booker-nominated literary translator. Her most recent book, The Whole Singing Ocean (2020), plunges us into memory, magic, ecological grief and the true story of a boat school. Jessica's first collection, Everything, now (Brick Books 2012), has been called “a powerful journey through love and loss – serving, ultimately, to unsettle any notion of a boundary between them.” The book is partly a conversation with her translation of Turkana Boy (Talonbooks), a poetic novel by Jean-François Beauchemin, for which she won a PEN America Translation Award. She is a former Lannan writer-in-residence and Banff International Literary Translation Centre alumnus, as well as a former VP for the Literary Translators' Association of Canada. Her translation of Maylis de Kerangal's moving and unusual story of a heart transplant, Mend the Living, was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize and won the 2017 Wellcome Book Prize. Jessica lives in Toronto, near the shores of Lake Ontario, that inland sea.
Jessica Moore is an author and Booker-nominated literary translator. Her most recent book, The Whole Singing Ocean (2020), plunges us into memory, magic, ecological grief and the true story of a boat school. Jessica's first collection, Everything, now (Brick Books 2012), has been called “a powerful journey through love and loss – serving, ultimately, to unsettle any notion of a boundary between them.” The book is partly a conversation with her translation of Turkana Boy (Talonbooks), a poetic novel by Jean-François Beauchemin, for which she won a PEN America Translation Award. She is a former Lannan writer-in-residence and Banff International Literary Translation Centre alumnus, as well as a former VP for the Literary Translators' Association of Canada. Her translation of Maylis de Kerangal's moving and unusual story of a heart transplant, Mend the Living, was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize and won the 2017 Wellcome Book Prize. Jessica lives in Toronto, near the shores of Lake Ontario, that inland sea.
Music:
Jessica Moore is a singer-songwriter whose rich vocals and gentle lyrics are accompanied by her banjo, piano, guitar, and body-percussion. Drawing on indie, folk, and spiritual traditions, Jessica's debut solo album, Beautiful in Red, presents a soulful collection of songs. Influences such as Gillian Welch, Lhasa de Sela, and Vashti Bunyan are evident in her emotional depth and heartfelt delivery, although ultimately, Jessica's voice is distinctively her own. Collaborators include Abigail Lapell, Gabe Levine, Lisa Bozikovic, Tyler Belluz, Colt Miller, Ross Cashiola / Hotel Brotherhood, and Ryan Granville-Martin. Her folk-duo with Gabe Levine, Charms, released a self-titled album in 2010. Beautiful in Red is available in independent music stores in Montreal (Phonopolis), and for order and digital download on Bandcamp.