Radiant is a poetic exploration of one hopeful person's healing journey through cancer—from missed appointment, to mammogram, to diagnosis, to surgery, chemo, and radiation, through hysterectomy, genetic testing through to wholeness. Kate Marshall Flaherty’s luminous poetry is raw, honest yet radiant and life-affirming. The poems are chronological, yet timeless; they are courageous and graphic, yet tenaciously realistic and positive. These poems are unflinching in their exploration of "fear, death, the whole shebang." They vary in form from odes to eulogies, from free verse to prose poem to "notes to self," "welcoming angels," "lighting up the night," voicing, blessing, questioning, raging, and eventually settling into a radiant space, of acceptance and gratitude.

Kate Marshall Flaherty’s recent books are Stone Soup and Reaching V. Her poetry has been published in journals such as CV2, Descant, Grain, Malahat Review and Vallum, was Shortlisted for Descant’s Best Canadian Poem, the Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize and Robert Frost Poetry Prizes. Co-founder of the Children’s Peace Theatre, she cross-pollinated poetry with dance to form “poetry in motion” performances that were recognized by the United Nations. She has travelled the world guiding yoga and writing retreats with InkSlingers. She was a “Random Acts of Poetry” Poet for three years, has been a beloved poet in the schools across Ontario, and is presently Toronto Representative for the League of Canadian Poets. She guides StillPoint Writers’ Retreats; writing is her lifeline. She lives in Toronto.

Kate Marshall Flaherty's profile page