ISBN 978-1894987-23-3, Wolsak and Wynn, 2008

6 x 9

80 pages, $17.00

Poetry

Once a Murderer

by Zoë Landale

“Zoë Landale’s poems in this book are life-changing, irrecoverable moments, touching timelessly on the border between contact and catastrophe.” George McWhirter, Vancouver Poet Laureate, 2006-2008

“Brace yourself. These poems are locked and loaded. Zoë Landale’s instinct for capturing the heightened moment is strong and true. These poems tell a story that shimmers.” Lorri Neilsen Glenn, Halifax Poet Laureate 2005-2009

A gritty, original collection on a subject rarely addressed: the surprising affinities between crime and poetry. To gather material for a mystery novel, Landale accompanied RCMP officers on patrol. In Once a Murderer, the novel’s protagonist has stepped out of prose fiction into poetry that is consuming and seductive. A running subversive commentary on love, crime and poetry appears in the margins, giving depth and flesh to the voices.