Burning Province: Poems [Paperback]

Acerbic, moving, and formally astonishing, Michael Prior's second collection explores the enduring impact of the Japanese internment upon his family legacy and his mixed-race identity.

Canada-Japan Literary Award, Winner
Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, Winner
Raymond Souster Award, Shortlist

Amid the record-breaking wildfires that scorched British Columbia in 2015 and 2017, the poems in this collection move seamlessly between geographical and psychological landscapes, grappling with cultural trauma and mapping out complex topographies of grief, love, and inheritance: those places in time marked by generational memory when echo crosses echo.
     Burning Province is an elegy for a home aflame and for grandparents who had a complex relationship to it--but it is also a vivid appreciation of mono no aware: the beauty and impermanence of all living things. The fireflies stutter like an apology, Prior writes; I would be lying to you / if I didn't admit I love them. Praise for Michael Prior and Burning Province: 

“Extremely adept in his control of sound and image within free verse lyric form, Michael Prior leads the reader through shifts in location and time to contend with themes of history, identity, and belonging. Burning Province attempts to unravel memories of the poet’s grandparents’ time spent in a World War II internment camp for Japanese-Canadians, connect with a loved one who is drifting away cognitively at the end of life, and face questions of family and race when confronted by a border guard. Precise and stunning details captivate the reader and reveal connections that are unexpected, painful, and full of life.” —Raymond Souster ls"