In this new collection, Nina Berkhout skillfully illuminates quiet moments in our bustling world. Through poignant reflections on childhood, loss, and the relentless passage of time, she captures the subtle yet luminous events of the everyday. Writing about the animals and people of her neighbourhood, Berkhout introduces us to the talking toad in her garden, and her favourite late-night grocery store couple. She takes us to a restaurant for a birthday dinner, and aloft in a hot air balloon on garbage day. We follow two Dobermans to a park at sundown, guided by willows, transcending the boundaries of mortality. Sustained by icicles on the eaves, neglected violets, and the ethereal presence of departed loved ones, the poems in The Great Wake help us make sense of the sorrows and joys of ordinary life.
Nina Berkhout is the author of five previous poetry collections including Elseworlds, which won the Archibald Lampman Award. Her poems have been featured in publications across Canada including the Best Canadian Poetry anthology. She has also written four novels, most recently This Bright Dust, one of CBC’s Canadian Fiction Books to Read in 2024, and described by Publishers Weekly as “A stirring tale of the Great Depression on Canada’s Alberta prairie.” Originally from Calgary, she lives in Ottawa.
