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Research Collaborator

Lakehead University

Dr. Siddall's field is Canadian literature. Her publications include “‘That is what I told Dr. Jordan’: Public Constructions and Private Disruptions in Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace,” Essays on Canadian Writing (2004); "'I want to live in that music’: Blues, Bessie Smith and Improvised Identities in Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall on Your Knees", Critical Studies in Improvisation/Études critiques en improvisation (2005); and "Nice Work if You Can Get It: Women in Jazz" (co-authored with Ajay Heble), Landing on the Wrong Note: Jazz, Dissonance and Critical Practice (2000). She holds a PhD in English Canadian literature (University of Western Ontario), MA and honours BA in English literature (University of Guelph). In 2004 Dr. Siddall was appointed as the founding director of Lakehead University’s Instructional Development Centre.

Improvisation is, simply put, being and living this very moment. No one can hide in music, and improvising in music is to be truly in this very moment and being completely yourself, with all your qualities and faults. It is probably the most honest state for a human being to be in.

– John McLaughlin in an interview with Daniel Fischlin.