Penn Kemp was born Patricia Penn Anne Kemp on August 4, 1944, in Strathroy, Ontario.

She is a Canadian poet, novelist, playwright, and sound poet. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario (1968) and taught high school English and literature in Timmins and North York, Toronto, until 1970. Due to her interest in mythology, she has travelled extensively in Europe, North Africa, Mexico, South America, and India. In 1989, she earned an M.Ed. at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto. As a poet, performer, and playwright, Kemp has been celebrated as a trailblazer since her first publication of poetry by Coach House (1972). She was Writer-in-Residence at the universities in Buffalo, NY; Findhorn, Scotland; Flesherton, Ontario; Rondonia, Brazil; and Mumbai and Baroda, India. She published over thirty books of poetry, prose and drama, seven plays and ten CDs, and produced several award-winning videopoems. She became London's inaugural Poet Laureate in 2010. In 2012, she was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to the arts.

She lives in London, Ontario.