Myth, the much-anticipated debut collection from the multi-talented Terese Mason Pierre, weaves between worlds (‘real’ and ‘imaginary’) unearthing the unsettling: our jaded and joyful relationships to land, ancestry, trauma, self, and future. In three movements and two interludes, the poems in Myth move symphonically from tropical islands to barren cities, from lucid dreams to the mysteries of reality, from the sea to the cosmos. A dynamic mix of speculative poetry and ecstatic lyricism, the otherworldly and the sublime, Pierre’s poems never stray too long or too far from the spell of unspoiled nature: “The palm trees nod / at the ocean / the ocean does / what it always does / trusts the moon completely.”
Friends ‘with benefits’ tour the wonders of Grenada’s landscapes; extraterrestrials visit the Caribbean and the locals don’t seem phased; red birds “saunter airily like tourists,” La Diablesse lures helpless suitors to their dooms. This collection asks: How can myths manifest themselves in our daily lives? What do we actually mean when we say we love ourselves and others? And how do we pursue/create futures that honour our truths, histories and legacies?
Myth, the much-anticipated debut collection from the multi-talented Terese Mason Pierre, weaves between worlds (‘real’ and ‘imaginary’) unearthing the unsettling: our jaded and joyful relationships to land, ancestry, trauma, self, and future. In three movements and two interludes, the poems in Myth move symphonically from tropical islands to barren cities, from lucid dreams to the mysteries of reality, from the sea to the cosmos. A dynamic mix of speculative poetry and ecstatic lyricism, the otherworldly and the sublime, Pierre’s poems never stray too long or too far from the spell of unspoiled nature: “The palm trees nod / at the ocean / the ocean does / what it always does / trusts the moon completely.”
Friends ‘with benefits’ tour the wonders of Grenada’s landscapes; extraterrestrials visit the Caribbean and the locals don’t seem phased; red birds “saunter airily like tourists,” La Diablesse lures helpless suitors to their dooms. This collection asks: How can myths manifest themselves in our daily lives? What do we actually mean when we say we love ourselves and others? And how do we pursue/create futures that honour our truths, histories and legacies?
| Published By | House of Anansi Press Inc — Apr 1, 2025 |
| Specifications | 120 pages | 5.75 in x 8 in |
| Keywords | Magical Realism; Experimental Poetry; BIPOC Voices; Own Voices; BIPOC Poetry; Racialized experimental literature; Science Fiction; Speculative Fiction; Fantasy; Mythology; Jillian Christmas; Manahil Bandukwala; Monument; Cannibal; Safiya Sinclair; Who Will Bury You?; Chido Muchemwa; Chrysalis; Anuja Varghese; Creation of Half Broken People; |
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Supporting Resources
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Excerpt |
| Written By |
TERESE MASON PIERRE (she/her) is a writer, poet, and editor whose work has appeared in the Walrus, ROOM, Brick, Quill & Quire, Uncanny, and Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction. Her work has been nominated for the bpNichol Chapbook Award, Best of the Net, the Aurora Award, the Rhysling Award, and the Ignyte Award. She is one of ten winners of the Writers’ Trust Journey Prize and was named a Writers’ Trust Rising Star. Terese is the chief programming officer at Augur, a speculative arts nonprofit, and co-director of AugurCon, Augur’s biennial speculative arts conference. Terese lives in Toronto. |
| Written By |
|
TERESE MASON PIERRE (she/her) is a writer, poet, and editor whose work has appeared in the Walrus, ROOM, Brick, Quill & Quire, Uncanny, and Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction. Her work has been nominated for the bpNichol Chapbook Award, Best of the Net, the Aurora Award, the Rhysling Award, and the Ignyte Award. She is one of ten winners of the Writers’ Trust Journey Prize and was named a Writers’ Trust Rising Star. Terese is the chief programming officer at Augur, a speculative arts nonprofit, and co-director of AugurCon, Augur’s biennial speculative arts conference. Terese lives in Toronto. |
“Myth is aptly titled for it is as vast as the word’s implication … The diaspora is indeed everywhere because, in Mason Pierre’s thrillingly versatile language, it is as large as the cosmos and as intimate as the soul.” —Wayde Compton, author of The Outer Harbour
”“Myth closely captures the way historicity and futurity move through us, not cleanly, but repetitively, snagging us with waves of ‘coloured truth’ and ‘layered violence’.” —Phoebe Wang, author of Waking Occupations
”“In the world of these poems, the body is closer to the blue of the sky and grasp of the grass than it is in ordinary life … Once the poems have changed us, we might not be able to leave the world Terese Mason Pierre has made.” —Larissa Lai, author of The Lost Century
”“This is poetry that swells, takes flight, and soars.”—Manahil Bandukwala, author of Monument and Heliotropia
”“Lead by a voice that is reflective, poised, and self-assured, this is the kind of poetry that honours old tellings, that journeys to speculative imaginings.” —Whitney French, editor, Black Writers Matter
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