In Tanja Bartel's riveting poetry debut, the bucolic Vancouver suburbs clash with the interpersonal. The reader dips into the lives of individuals whose day-to-day is anything but peaceful, altered by luck and choice, fear and failure. In poems that light upon themes such as regret, guilt and human empathy, Bartel highlights the arbitrary nature of life and the demons that persist within. (From Goose Lane Editions)

Tanja Bartel holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications including Geist, The Antigonish Review and the American Journal of Medical Genetics. She lives in Pitt Meadows, B.C.