Late, Again by Susan Alexander
CBC Books | Posted: October 31, 2018 8:23 PM | Last Updated: November 1, 2018
2018 CBC Poetry Prize longlist
Susan Alexander has made the 2018 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for Late, Again.
About Susan
Susan Alexander is the author of The Dance Floor Tilts. Most recently, a poem from her book was selected by Poetry in Transit for display on Vancouver busses in 2018/19. Susan's poems have received prizes and appeared in several Canadian literary magazines.
Entry in five-ish words
Loose, humorous, energetic, sideways, intimate.
The poem's source of inspiration
"The poem started as a light meditation about struggles with punctuality. Then came a shift and I ended up writing about a strangely related struggle — feelings of guilt surrounding my mother's death."
First lines
I don't see it numbered among the seven deadlies. My mother named me late bloomer, which means I've been slow to my own arrival.
I spend every day playing tag with myself.
I spend every day playing tag with myself.
Being late is rarely personal. I'm a startled flock of birds, a black cloud turning.
Time itself is at fault. It stretches out in all directions, loops into yesterday and vaults into tomorrow. Then it's gone like an empty roll of toilet paper.
Time itself is at fault. It stretches out in all directions, loops into yesterday and vaults into tomorrow. Then it's gone like an empty roll of toilet paper.
About the 2018 CBC Poetry Prize
The winner of the 2018 CBC Poetry Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, will have their work published on CBC Books and will have the opportunity to attend a writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.