Hard Ass is a daring and bold collection of poetry, filled with passion and anger. McCartney skillfully hones her craft, yet the poet's confessional voice feels raw and honest as if she merely purged her words onto the page. Using weightlifting as a metaphor to explore the poet's inner world and her romantic attachments, McCartney both reinforces and undermines the transcendence of love.

Sharon McCartney is the author of two previous poetry
collections, Under the Abdominal Wall (Anvil) and Karenin Sings the Blues (Goose Lane), and the chapbook Switchgrass Stills (littlefishcartpress). Her work has been published in numerous magazines and journals including PRISM international, Event, Grain, sub-TERRAIN, Prairie Fire, Iowa City and the Malahat Review. McCartney has an MFA in poetry from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and a law degree from the University of Victoria. She works as a legal editor in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and is poetry editor for The Fiddlehead.

Sharon McCartney's profile page