BC Poetry 2017: "What The Soul Doesn't Want" by Lorna Crozier (Freehand Books)

When The Bones Get Cold

My husband sends me hummingbirds 
from his eyes. Only he and I know 
he’s going blind. For him, I don’t get old.
His fingers, chapped from gardening, sand my skin, 
bring out the grain he cannot see.
I am made beautiful by loss. The moon, too, 
grows more far-sighted. Its light compliments: 
the smallest birds don’t disagree. There’s a sweetness 
that comes from accepting what I am, 
not a mountain, not a river, not a tree.

Who?

Lorna Crozier, an Officer of the Order of Canada, is the author of sixteen previous books of poetry, most recently The Wrong Cat and The Wild in You. She is also the author of The Book of Marvels: A Compendium of Ordinary Things and the memoir Small Beneath the Sky. She is a Professor Emerita at the University of Victoria, has been awarded the Governor General's Award for Poetry, and is a three-time recipient of the Pat Lowther Award. Born in Swift Current, she now lives on Vancouver Island with writer Patrick Lane and two fine cats.


What?

In What the Soul Doesn’t Want, Lorna Crozier describes the passage of time in the way that only she can. Her arresting, edgy poems about aging and grief are surprising and invigorating: a defiant balm. At the same time, she revels in the quirkiness and whimsy of the natural world. Crozier’s signature wit and striking imagery are on display as she stretches her wings and reminds us that we haven’t yet seen all that she can do.


When?

Arrives May 2017.


Where?

Book Launches: May 30th at Munro’s Books in Victoria.

Purchases: From the Freehand Books website or at your local bookstore. $16.05.


How?

Balming defiantly.

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The copyrights of all poems included in the series remain with their authors, and are reprinted with the permission of the publishers.