One of CBC’s picks for 30 Canadian books to read in Winter 2024
the berry takes the shape of the bloom originated as a gesture towards optimism after loss and pain, difficulty and fear. It began as a linear narrative, offering a window into one trans person’s life after they felt contented and secure. But in the end these poems, which capture particular moments in time, may recur in any given present: sometimes what surfaces is anxiety or anger, sometimes love or eagerness. Some poems bear witness; others hold grudges or shake free of them. Together, they entwine around enmeshed experiences of gender, family, trans pregnancy, abuse, fear, and becoming.
advanced praise
“Berried with bittersweet poems, andrea bennett’s the berry takes the shape of the bloom is a haunting and beautifully wrought mediation on a mother and a not-daughter, on trans parenting in a cis-heteronormative world, on becoming and embracing an ‘unruly body’ that ‘refuses to be a gun.’”
—Mercedes Eng, author of my yt mama and Prison Industrial Complex Explodes“Honest, lyrical, dreamy, and deeply wise, the berry takes the shape of the bloom is a moving exploration of the things a body holds onto, what is retained and what gets passed along. This gorgeous collection serves up a feast of images whose flavours and textures lingered long after I’d finished reading.”
—Kayla Czaga, author of Dunk Tank and For Your Safety Please Hold On“andrea bennett’s new collection is a gorgeous and powerful gateway into time itself. Each poem is an embodied act of resistance, resonating across territories, seasons, and life cycles. I devoured this book and reread it immediately.”
—Leah Horlick, author of Moldovan Hotel and For Your Own Good