On winning the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award in the English Language Poetry Category

November 18, 2021. Full statement initially provided to Dana Gee of the Vancouver Province

I feel very honoured, and thankful to the Canada Council for the Arts; to Kaie Kellough, George Murray and Anna Marie Sewell, who sat on the peer assessment committee; to my publisher Aimée Parent Dunn; and to my editor Jim Johnstone, who helped me hone the manuscript into the book it became. It is very profound to me that poems that I wrote in artistic isolation have been meaningful for readers who have been in a different kind of isolation. I hope the poems brought them some comfort, some ability to confront conflict, or at least some escape. There is a vindication in being read that is a key reward for artists. I am grateful for the witness borne to these perspectives that I was fortunate to have published. It however feels strange to be celebrating this win in the midst of so much devastation, most recently the BC floods. I want to celebrate, instead, my co-workers in these literary arts. I salute the work, and bravery, of all the authors and publishers that have put out books in this pandemic. I have read many of the 123 incredible books submitted for this year’s GG awards in poetry, and especially those of the other finalists: Hoa Nguyen, Rebecca Salazar, Stephen Collis, and Roxanna Bennett. It was a formidable cohort to be part of, and I hope readers continue to immerse themselves in these striking books.