pépère in three parts by Scott Andrew Christensen
CBC Books | Posted: November 10, 2022 1:00 PM | Last Updated: November 10, 2022
Scott Andrew Christensen has made the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for pépère in three parts.
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, the CBC Nonfiction Prize opens in January and the CBC Poetry Prize opens in April.
About Scott Andrew Christensen
Fascinated father of three gregarious youngsters and partner to one bright and gifted spouse, Scott Andrew Christensen's relationship with the natural world inspires his poetry, fiction and script writing projects, buoyed by the sanctuary of a seaside Nova Scotia cottage where his family finds summer. His collection the boundaries of return from Red Hand Books contains poems found in The Comstock Review, PRISM international, Saranac Review and New Quarterly 2. He has also appeared in The Dalhousie Review, The Fiddlehead, and most recently, Geist. He holds an MFA in English and writing from Long Island University.
Entry in five-ish words
"The frostbite of family legacy."
The source of inspiration
"Years ago, I had success publishing a poem based on a novel excerpt. It was particularly satisfying because the piece was dedicated to my high school English teacher, a person with whom I still have a strong connection. pépère in three parts went through the same process. I chose an excerpt from a manuscript, a novel begun under the pretense that it would represent a work as far away from me as possible.
"But you can never escape family. The protagonist of this poem — the 13-year-old version of an Acadian merchant selling opiate-laced ink in 1900s Montréal — was what I created, and he connives with our need to blame parents for our misgivings. Through various angles and combinations, like pool balls, it is our parents who cue us before we roll through the natural world and spin off those who occupy it, those 'of heartbeat and bone,' or others 'hovering in bootprints like a lost howl.'"
"But you can never escape family. The protagonist of this poem — the 13-year-old version of an Acadian merchant selling opiate-laced ink in 1900s Montréal — was what I created, and he connives with our need to blame parents for our misgivings. Through various angles and combinations, like pool balls, it is our parents who cue us before we roll through the natural world and spin off those who occupy it, those 'of heartbeat and bone,' or others 'hovering in bootprints like a lost howl.'"
First lines
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, have their work published on CBC Books and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for the 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.
The 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January. The 2023 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April.