Elizabeth Bachinsky Books

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2006 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S AWARD"Elizabeth Bachinsky is one of those rare poets capable of negotiating poetic forms with rigour and testing their limits, while never losing sight of the strange, dark music of what it means to be human. We should expect great things from her." --The Globe and MailHome of Sudden Service is a sad and scary book of punk rock villanelles and sonnets about delinquency.Set in Anyvalley, North America, Home of Sudden Service centres around the experiences of young people growing up in the suburbs. The contrast of elegant poetic forms with the colloquial, often harsh language of suburban teens makes for a compelling and engaging achievement.Bachinsky creates a gothic landscape that will be familiar to anyone who's visited the suburbs. Here, young Brownies dance, learn to sew and get badges in a series of eerie rituals, and smalltown girls settle down early. Murder, lust, teen pregnancy and a young man's disappearance are all discussed with a matter-of-fact, dispassionate voice.But this world is not without humour and hope. Home of Sudden Service concludes with "Drive," a series of fifteen sonnets about the poet's trip across Canada with her sister -- and out of the setting of their youth.

Exploring themes of love, paranoia, and existentialism, this collection showcases a vibrant blend of surreal imagery and innovative forms. Readers will encounter Antonin Artaud's bizarre adventures, the unsettling presence of surveillance, and a playful deconstruction of classic literary works. With influences from both 20th and 21st-century writers, the poems challenge traditional notions of authorship and audience, offering a unique and ironic perspective. This debut collection marks the emergence of a bold new voice in poetry.

Elizabeth Bachinsky's latest poetry collection showcases her trademark blend of irony and sensuality, merging youthful playfulness with mature observations. Through a series of seemingly unrelated images, she explores themes of raw intimacy, dark humor, and immediacy. Her bold vision reveals the erotic within everyday moments, while her candid style effectively conveys the complex truths of life, inviting readers to experience the depth of emotion and insight woven throughout her work.

Written in the near absence of creative works by Ukrainian Canadians of her generation, God of Missed Connections is a breakthrough collection by one of Canada's leading young poets. This book is profound, devastating, and draws on Ukraine's brave and bloody history as a means to explore the author's place in the contemporary world."This book explores a century of cultural assimilation in the West, an experience that is not unique to a Ukrainian-Canadian sensibility. In this book, I wanted to capture the sense of what it feels like to not know where you're from, to be looking for connections, and to come up with ghosts. God of Missed Connections is just the way I've gone about sifting through my own cultural detritus. What makes it through time, what doesn't? That's what interests me."--Elizabeth Bachinsky

Combining confessional and procedural techniques, this collection features selections from Elizabeth Bachinsky's journals, arranged by chance through a die roll. The disjunctive chronology and randomization challenge traditional narrative forms, inviting readers to engage with the text in an innovative way. The work emphasizes the act of receiving rather than writing, exploring the fluidity of narrative and the unique possibilities it presents.