Copyright © 2011 by University of Nebraska–Lincoln, all rights reserved. Redistribution or republication in any medium, except as allowed under the Fair Use provisions of U.S. copyright law, requires express written consent from the editors and advance notification of the publisher, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Sharon Butala is best known for her descriptions of the physical and spiritual geography of her corner of southwestern Saskatchewan, near the Montana border, where she lives with her husband, Peter Butala, a cattle rancher. In 1996 the Butalas dedicated a portion of their ranch land to Nature Conservancy Canada so that the beauty of the native shortgrass prairie could be preserved. Butala's literary work has similarly been dedicated to preserving and communicating the aesthetic and cultural meanings of the prairie, especially the complex relationships between farming people and the land they work.
Born Sharon LeBlanc on August 24, 1940, in northern Saskatchewan near Nipawin, Butala moved to Saskatoon at age thirteen. After graduating from St. Mary's Roman Catholic School, she attended the University of Saskatchewan, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English and art. A decade later she returned to the university for a bachelor's degree in education, specializing in learning disabilities. She married Peter Butala after her first marriage ended, leaving her urban life behind and embarking on a difficult but fruitful period of reflection, observation, and self-discovery through writing.
Butala's first published work was
Butala's first foray into nonfiction,