Child-Free by Nicole Ardiel
CBC Books | Posted: November 10, 2022 1:00 PM | Last Updated: November 10, 2022
Nicole Ardiel has made the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for Child-Free.
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 Nicole Ardiel
Nicole Ardiel is a poet, fiction writer and voracious reader. She grew up, and still lives, in beautiful Victoria. She has a degree in English and creative writing from the University of Victoria, stacks of diaries and journals dating back to age five, plus a few published poems from a lifetime ago. After a long pause during which she built and ran her own business, Nicole has returned to her craft. She is now deeply rooted in her creative practice and the local writing community, but still takes plenty of time to explore her stunning island surroundings with her beloved pup.
Entry in five-ish words
"Raw, uncomfortable, visceral, misunderstood expectations."
The source of inspiration
"In a broad sense, the inspiration for this poem centres around the societal expectations of women to pro-create.
Women who do not have children are often misunderstood, and subsequently treated differently. - Nicole Ardiel
"Women who do not have children are often misunderstood, and subsequently treated differently. Harmful misconceptions, ranging from infertility to dislike of kids, develop and too often continue as silent assumptions (as this subject can been seen as taboo). Women who make a deliberate choice to not have children have been viewed as selfish or unconventional and — as illustrated in this poem — have found the patriarchal medical culture doesn't know how or refuses to take them seriously."
First lines
The way the technicians ask
Is there a chance you could be pregnant?
As if they believe it is left
Only to chance.
Is there a chance you could be pregnant?
As if they believe it is left
Only to chance.
The weighted X-ray blanket drapes over me,
Over my ovaries and uterus,
Despite that the scan
Is of my neck.
Over my ovaries and uterus,
Despite that the scan
Is of my neck.
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.