The Weeping Degree is a raw and edgy collection of poetry and prose navigating the soul's journey from tears to triumph.

From its opening pages, readers of Kelly Watt's gritty poems are taken on a hero's journey-following the ripple effect of childhood sexual trauma as it transforms throughout a lifetime from a wound to a gift.

Divided into three captivating sections: "The Home for Little Girls," "The Buddha and The Pink Futon," and, "Hands Across the World," the poems in The Weeping Degree traverse the globe from the shadows of foster care in a bland North American suburb, to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Nepal.

Written for poetry lovers, spiritual seekers, astrology aficionados and mental health advocates alike, this collection will take you on a novelistic odyssey, a profound healing road, where poetry is a sacred art, a place where our deepest sorrows are transmuted through imagination and creativity to self-acceptance and joy.

Kelly's astrologically-inspired poetry, The Weeping Degree was a finalist in the San Miguel de Allende's Poetry Mesa and Wild Rising Press chapbook contest, January 2023. (From Wild Rising Press)

Kelly Watt has previously published two books, the gothic novel Mad Dog and the nonfiction title Camino Meditations. She has lived in five countries but now makes her home in Ontario.

Watt has been longlisted four times for CBC Literary Prizes: in 2019, for the CBC Nonfiction Prize for Mexican Parade and for the CBC Short Story Prize in both 2015 and 2018 for two different versions of Fall of the High Waters. Most recently, Watt was on the longlist for the 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize.