A Mother's Secrets by Lauren Gehlen

Image | Lauren Gehlen

Caption: Lauren Gehlen is a poet currently studying at the University of British Columbia. (Robin Bonner)

Lauren Gehlen has made the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for A Mother's Secrets.
The shortlist will be announced on Nov. 17 and the winner will be announced on Nov. 24.
If you're interested in the CBC Literary Prizes(external link), the CBC Nonfiction Prize opens in January and the CBC Poetry Prize opens in April.

About Lauren Gehlen

Lauren is a mother, partner and part-time student in the creative writing program at her alma mater, the University of British Columbia.

Entry in five-ish words

"Mother nurture. Tenderness. Attention. Tension."

The poems' sources of inspiration

"I was inspired by motherhood, a desire to feel present with the specific, sensory details of my everyday life, a winter poetry class and poems by Deborah Landau and Naomi Shihab Nye (specifically, You've Got to Start Somewhere and Famous)."

First lines

Embed | Other

About the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize

The winner of the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts(external link), have their work published on CBC Books(external link) and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity(external link). Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts(external link) and have their work published on CBC Books(external link).
The 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January. The 2023 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April.