something like wait for me
in the braille of scars
tonight can i suggest a little punctuation
circle half-moon vertical line of astonishment
a pause that transforms
light and breath
into language and threshold of fire
Even as vowels tremble in danger and worldly destruction repeats itself on the horizon, Ardour reminds us that the silence pulsing within us is also a language of connection. In these poems, intimacy with the other is another astonishment—a pleasant gasp, a "pause that transforms light and breath into language and threshold of fire." Since her first book appeared fifty years ago, Nicole Brossard has left us breathless, expanding our notion of poetry and its possibilities.
'[Nicole Brossard] is a wholly singular writer, part of a larger movement of Quebec Women's writing, part of feminist writing,avant-garde writing, part of lesbian writing, but wholly, unequivocally, herself.' – Sina Queyras
Nicole Brossard is a poet, novelist and essayist who has published more than thirty books since 1965, including These Our Mothers , Lovhers , Mauve Desert and Baroque at Dawn . She co-founded La Barre du Jour and La Nouvelle Barre du Jour , two important literary journals in Quebec. She has won two Governor General's Awards for poetry, as well as le Prix Athanase-David and the Canada Council's Molson Prize. Her work has been translated into several languages. She lives in Montreal.
Angela Carr is a poet and translator. Her most recent book is Here in There. Originally from Montreal, Quebec, she currently lives in New York City.
‘Carr’s faithfulness to the author is clear and unwavering. Her skills as translator, as well as a poet, are evident throughout the collection, and every page breathes new, ardent life into Brossard’s work.’—Vallum Magazine
Nicole Brossard is 'widely regarded as one of Canada's best poets.'
- The New Yorker
'[Nicole Brossard] is a wholly singular writer, part of a larger movement of Quebec Women's writing, part of feminist writing, avant-garde writing, part of lesbian writing, but wholly, unequivocally, herself.' – Sina Queyras