How does the rain sleep and where does the silence go? In her latest book of poetry, Between the Bell Struck and the Silence, Governor-General-Award-winning Pamela Porter contemplates the mysteries of existence. Porter skillfully reimagines familiar emotions: joy, loss, and healing are made new through descriptions of the flight of music, the spirits that dance between dusk and dawn, the blessings of coyotes and chickadees. Themes of Christian theology and the life and work of Van Gogh are woven throughout this rich tapestry of philosophical exploration and the healing powers of art.

Between the Bell Struck and the Silence is a profound offering that delves into the essence of what it means to be an artist and to experience the striking state of being alive, with all of its joys and sorrows. With this introspective collection, Porter invites a generous appreciation for the world and life itself.

Pamela Porter was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and she lived in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Washington and Montana before emigrating to Canada with her husband, the fourth generation of a farm family in southeastern Saskatchewan, the backdrop for much of Pamela's work. She is the author of three collections of poetry, and her poems have appeared in numerous journals across Canada and the US as well as being featured on Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac. She is also the author of a number of children’s books, including Sky and Yellow Moon, Apple Moon (illustrated by Matt James).

Pamela's first novel in verse, The Crazy Man, received the TD Children's Literature Award, the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award for Children, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and the Governor General's Award, as well as several children's choice awards. It was also named a Jane Addams Foundation Honor Book and won the Texas Institute of Letters, Friends of the Austin Public Library Award for Best Young Adult Book.

Pamela lives near Sidney, B.C., with her husband, children and a menagerie of rescued horses, dogs and cats.

Pamela Porter's profile page

“Between the Bell Struck and the Silence echoes with hope for the lost and suffering: how art heals, a secret that Van Gogh knew and used in his painting landscapes as if his soul were included in those nervous, heartfelt strokes of his existence. These are finely crafted poems. Pamela Porter addresses our residence here on earth; standing alone in a field and contemplating the stars in their luminous exaggeration above, our troubled gaze often rejoices.”

—Russell Thorburn, author of Somewhere We'll Leave the World