My Boy by Sarah Tsiang
CBC Books | Posted: October 31, 2018 7:54 PM | Last Updated: November 1, 2018
2018 CBC Poetry Prize longlist
Sarah Tsiang has made the 2018 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for My Boy.
About Sarah
Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang is the author of 10 books, including poetry, picture books and fiction. Her 2013 book Status Update was nominated for the Pat Lowther Award and her 2011 book Sweet Devilry won the Gerald Lampert Award. She has been widely anthologized in such collections as Best of the Best Canadian Poetry, Poet-to-Poet and the Newborn Anthology. She currently teaches poetry through UBC's optional residency MFA program.
Entry in five-ish words
Complexity of raising a boy.
The poem's source of inspiration
"This long poem is part of a pair of long poems about raising my daughter and son. My Boy is a meditation on masculinity."
First lines
My young son is fascinated by violence. He begs
for a toy gun. I keep telling him, "it isn't okay
to pretend to hurt someone" and hold his
baby-dimpled fists from hitting.
for a toy gun. I keep telling him, "it isn't okay
to pretend to hurt someone" and hold his
baby-dimpled fists from hitting.
And yet, I've taken up Krav Maga
and Kickboxing. I dream of it, combinations
twisting the sheets, euphoria like knuckles
and Kickboxing. I dream of it, combinations
twisting the sheets, euphoria like knuckles
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.