In this new collection, Nina Berkhout skillfully illuminates quiet moments in our bustling world. Through poignant reflections on childhood, loss, and the relentless passage of time, she captures the subtle yet luminous events of the everyday. Writing about the animals and people of her neighbourhood, Berkhout introduces us to the talking toad in her garden, and her favourite late-night grocery store couple. She takes us to a restaurant for a birthday dinner, and aloft in a hot air balloon on garbage day. We follow two Dobermans to a park at sundown, guided by willows, transcending the boundaries of mortality. Sustained by icicles on the eaves, neglected violets, and the ethereal presence of departed loved ones, the poems in The Great Wake help us make sense of the sorrows and joys of ordinary life.

Nina Berkhout is the author of three novels, most recently Why Birds Sing, which was described as a “must read” by the Globe and Mail and “not to be missed” by the Ottawa Citizen, a Best Book of the Year (Canada) by Audible, and a Great Group Reads selection by the Women’s National Book Association (USA). Her young adult novel The Mosaic was nominated for the White Pine Award and the Ottawa Book Awards and named an Indigo Best Teen Book, and her novel The Gallery of Lost Species was named an Indigo and Kobo Best Book and a Harper’s Bazaar Hottest Breakout Novel. Berkhout is also the author of five poetry collections, including Elseworlds, which won the Archibald Lampman Award. A recent finalist for the Alberta Magazine Awards, her poems have been featured in publications across Canada including Best Canadian Poetry 2024. Originally from Calgary, she lives in Ottawa. This Bright Dust is Berkhout’s fourth novel.

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