Shifting the shape of the world
February 02nd, 2023
In her debut collection of poems, Shapeshifters (Nightwood $19.95), Délani Valin embodies different personas to deal with her urban Métis experience and neurodivergence. It was fellow poet Marilyn Bowering who suggested to Valin that she “play with different personas as a way to access difficult experiences” says Valin in her acknowledgements. Valin’s choice of personas is intriguing: Barbie, Betty Crocker, Michelin Man and Starbucks among others. She even shapeshifts to conditions like autism and depression. Other poems are more straightforward confessionals. Valin’s publisher says this book “maps ways in which an individual can attempt to fit into a world that is inhospitable to them, and makes a case for shifting the shape of that world.” 9780889714281
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