The Work by Bren Simmers

The poems in The Work engage with the work of love and loss and the hope that we might somehow learn to carry our portion of grief. Simmers writes of churning in an accumulation of lossesthe sudden death of her father, the descent of her mother into dementia, her sister-in-law's terminal illnessand of the work of slowly making wholeness out of brokenness. Her writing fosters a vulnerability and wit that sidestep easier tropes, a reminder that healing often comes through saying "Hello"and "Yes"; a realization that "all this noticing / was love."(From Gaspereau Press)

• P.E.I. writer Bren Simmers wins 2022 CBC Poetry Prize for work inspired by how Alzheimer's affects language
• How Bren Simmers wrote the poems that won the 2022 CBC PoetryPrize
• 13 poetry collections by past CBC Literary Prizes winners and finalists from 2024
• Books by past CBC Poetry Prize winners and finalists being published in 2024

Bren Simmers is the author of four books, including the wilderness memoirPivot PointandHastings-Sunrise,which was a finalist for the Vancouver Book Award as well as a collection of poetry titledIf, When.

Simmerswon the 2022 CBC Poetry Prizefor her poetry collectionSpell World Backwardswhich is included in The Work. She was the first everCBC Literary Prizegrand prize winner from Prince Edward Island.Simmerswas previously longlisted for the CBCPoetry Prize in2013 forI Blame MASH For My Addiction To MLSand in2012 forScience Lessons.