Good Holding Ground maps the awakening of sexuality and how our bodies and hearts respond to marital and family bonds. The sense of wilderness, the body out of control, is described in vivid detail in many of the poems. From sailing in the uncertain waves of the Pacific, to a cancer diagnosis, Kerkham explores our place in nature and struggles to negotiate the varied relationships that have a powerful hold on us. These poems are at once personal and a testament to our times. In precise and painterly detail, they investigate the diverse worlds of family and explore our ambivalence, anger, gratitude and desire.

Cynthia Woodman Kerkham was born in Toronto, raised in Hong Kong and Vancouver and has lived in France. She has a degree in Asian Studies and English literature from UBC and has worked as a potter, journalist and teacher. Her poems have appeared in many literary journals including The Antigonish Review, Room, CV2, The New Quarterly, The Malahat Review, Grain and Prairie Fire. In 2009 she won the Federation of BC Writers Literary Writes Competition. Good Holding Ground is her debut collection of poems.

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