In this third collection of poetry, Renee Norman inhabits Martha Quest like a spirit, and rewrites her through poems that bring her into being. Martha is Doris Lessing's autobiographical protagonist from her Martha Quest series of novels, and Norman "borrows" Martha and encounters her in the mirror of writing. There she reflects upon, interprets, and reimagines Martha, at times addressing Lessing, too. But within--and in between--the lines and stanzas, she also encounters herself, as she is filtered through Martha's reflection, the Martha who is in us all. Theses poems are about love and loss, birth and motherhood, longing and abandonment, and the compassion and understanding women can bring to one another.

Renee Norman, PhD, is a prize-winning poet, writer, and retired educator. Her poetry book, True Confessions (Inanna), was awarded the Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award for poetry. She is also the author of 2 other books of poetry, Backhand Through the Mother, and Martha in the Mirror (Inanna). She received the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies Distinguished Dissertation Award for House of Mirrors: Performing Autobiograph(icall)y in Language/Education, published by Peter Lang, NY. Previously she worked as a classroom teacher in public schools, an arts educator, a university professor, and school board consultant. She lives in Coquitlam, BC.

Carl Leggo is a poet and professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. His books include: Growing Up Perpendicular on the Side of a Hill; View from My Mother's House; Come-By-Chance; Lifewriting as Literary Métissage and an Ethos for Our Times (co-authored with Erika Hasebe-Ludt and Cynthia Chambers); Creative Expression, Creative Education (co-edited with Robert Kelly); Sailing in a Concrete Boat: A Teacher's Journey; Arresting Hope: Women Taking Action in Prison Health Inside Out (co-edited with Ruth Martin, Mo Korchinski, and Lynn Fels); and Arts-based and Contemplative Practices in Research and Teaching: Honoring Presence (co-edited with Susan Walsh and Barbara Bickel). He lives in Steveston, BC.

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