In her debut volume of poetry Collecting Silence (Ronsdale, 2017) Ulrike Narwani listens to “the words stranded . . . in our hidden lives.” To the memories that snag and do not let go. To hunger, beauty, despair and fulfillment. Memories that shape our sense of who we are and where and how we belong in the world.
These are timely poems for our fragmented, noise-filled lives. They remind us that it is in silence that the music of connection becomes audible.
Ulrike Narwani, of Baltic-German heritage, grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and completed a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto. Her poetry has been published in Island Writer, CV2, FreeFall, Vallum, two chapbooks edited by Patrick Lane, and the anthology, Poems for Planet Earth. Ulrike is an active participant in the Planet Earth Poetry reading series. She makes her home in North Saanich, BC.