Strange Animals

For lovers of contemporary poetry, but especially women in the transition from youth to middle age, and anyone who has moved ‘away. Vanderploeg is a Canadian grandchild of Dutch and Hungarian immigrants. Originally from Aurora, Ontario, Canada, she has also lived in Budapest and London, and is now settled in Swansea. Some of the poems deal with Vanderploeg’s experience of being a grandchild of immigrants and becoming an immigrant herself. ‘Emily Vanderploeg’s clear-eyed lyric poetry explores the questions of where we belong, who we have become, and who or what undertakes that journey alongside us. To read this intimate collection feels like being in conversation with a friend, allowing us the freedom to see ourselves anew...’ – Carolyn Smart ‘Strange Animals is a collection that moves deftly between different kinds of poetic looking: the close up of the personal and intimate, and the longing gaze towards far-away family, language, culture. These are poems of abundance even as they mourn what is lost... sharp and surprising, [they] so often put one in mind of Gwen John's interiors: the beauty and importance of the domestic, and the hard-won rewards found in the self alone. There is heartache here but also a committed hopefulness: these poems have faith that love can emerge in “the space between / the end and the beginning”.’ – Katherine Stansfield 'Vanderploeg takes you to wild places; from Lake Huron to Swansea bedsits... These poems will leave you full of hunger and love; go with her, and let the “Aurora Borealis call you home”.’ – Jessica Mookherjee ‘Reading Strange Animals feels a bit like rummaging around in someone's well-travelled backpack full of old photographs, seashells, tarot, and countless precious found objects collected for "the passing of knowledge”. A brilliant new voice.’ – Roberto Pastore -- Publisher: Parthian Books