Women and Roosters - by Fenn Stewart (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In women & roosters, Fenn Stewart presents a contradictory world that is both beautiful and brutal, humorous and heartbreaking.

Taking its title from Galen's claim that "all creatures are sad after sex except women and roosters," this semi-autobiographical long poem expertly winds its way through topics as far-reaching as climate change, nature, trail-running, settler nationalism, motherhood, love, loss, and illness.

In both form and content, the book revels in opposing forces. Cities, forests, and oceans are sites of both abundance and abandonment. Humans, birds, deer, crabs, plants, and trees thrive and multiply, but also get sick and die. Living things eat and are eaten, find joy and misery, run, fly, and swim--and meet natural and unnatural ends.

Written in a refreshingly conversational tone, while offering striking (and at times unsettling) imagery, women & roosters is a forthright and deeply emotional triumph that will linger with readers long after its final, vibrant page.

Review Quotes

"'What if prickliness is a form of fidelity?' Fenn Stewart asks in this collection that traces connections between invasive plants, persistent viruses, and a relationship the speaker isn't ready to let go of yet. These poems are luminous, smart company, self-aware, and surprising." -- River Halen, author of Dream Rooms

"In women & roosters, Fenn Stewart deftly subverts the Canadian colonial wilderness poem, crafting intimate maps of unrequited love that resonate with Faiz Ahmad Faiz's notion that 'the true subject of poetry is the loss of the beloved.' Through precise and polished phrases, she blends eros with politics, offering compelling insights into 'the earth on fire.'" --Asher Ghaffar, author of Wasps in a Golden Dream Hum a Strange Music

About the Author

FENN STEWART is the author of three chapbooks and the poetry collection, Better Nature, which was longlisted for the 2018 Gerald Lampert Memorial Prize. A former editor of The Capilano Review, she continues to serve on the magazine's editorial board. Stewart holds a PhD in social and political thought, and teaches literature and writing at Capilano University. She lives with her kids in Vancouver, B.C., on unceded Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəỷəm (Musqueam), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories.