I have had reviews. I have had lists. I am unbelievably lucky. And, as I write this I am waiting to hear whether my sister’s pain meds have kicked in. She is in palliative care in Northern British Columbia. I went to see her in October, and it’s not likely I will get back to see hear again.
My mother used to balk at any good news. She always thought she couldn’t afford it. I have a little of that as well. It’s easy to mistrust when each win is coupled with loss. And it is. It always is. My Ariel has been blessed by amazing minds reading it. Again, lucky. A review in Publisher’s Weekly–lucky. A star? Unbelievable. My first reaction was to hide it, and myself, but then I heard the voice of a very dear old friend who I have not seen in years. You have to enjoy your wins when you get them–otherwise you can’t handle the losses. And so I’m enjoying it. And a small side effect is that this made my sister proud. At this time, when there is little that gives her pleasure, when all I can do is check in on Facebook to see if she’s up for chatting. And if the pain meds have kicked in.
Thanks to all who have reviewed and included My Ariel on their lists. (updated December 22, 2017)
Barbara Carey in the Toronto Star
Outspoken and unabashed, My Ariel is a kind of poetic companion to the #MeToo movement.
Ian McGillis in the Montreal Gazette
Phoebe Wang in the Globe and Mail
Few poets are better equipped than Queyras to plunge into the examination of the figure of Plath as a prototype for female genius. With honesty, humour and passionate attention, she lays bare the gendered conventions that circumscribed Plath’s life and how they are still, in new guises, determining her own life as well as that of her female students.
Jonathan Ball in the Winnipeg Free Press
My Ariel is a towering achievement, a heavily researched and dense but gripping collection, an exceptional book that confirms Queyras, already one of the country’s most exciting poets, as one of the most impressive.
The Globe 100.
25 Must Read Fall Books Toronto Star
And Publisher’s Weekly:
sinaqueyras.com 