My Forests by Hélène Dorion, translated by Susanna Lang
My Forests by Hélène Dorion, translated by Susanna Lang
Pre-Order
Literature in Translation Series
Poetry
Publication Date: October 13, 2026
5.5 x 8.5 inches
96 pages
Trade Paperback
ISBN 9781771669962
| Trade Paperback $22.95 (Pre-order) | This item will be shipped on: October 13, 2026 |
Hélène Dorion’s lauded collection My Forests celebrates and examines our complex relationship with the natural world. The poems gathered here serve not only as hymns of praise to the trees, but also as vital warnings of fragility—both theirs and our own.
Dorion lives surrounded by lakes and forests, rivers and shores, in the fog of memory and in vast estuaries where thoughts flow into the sea. Taking inspiration from this vivid landscape, she delves into the heart of the forest, while also exploring how our relationship with nature has deteriorated over time. Lush and sensual images evoke the forest’s enduring beauty, locating nature within the noise of the world and the passage of time.
By imploring us to listen to the chorus of the trees, My Forests offers the hope that we will protect our shared home and envision a collective future in which all people can live in dignity. Seeking a way out of the darkness, Dorion’s poems lead us toward “a vast and luminous path/that gives meaning/to what we call humanity.”
Praise for My Forests
“In this collection of short lyrical poems, translator Susanna Lang captures the vivid sensory panorama of Hélène Dorion’s poetry. Lang is always attuned to Dorion’s shifting tone—by turns aphoristic, despairing, or mystical. And she has a knack for finding English words that channel the vigor of the poet’s French, as when ‘a flower splits the silence / sway of grass makes it rustle.’ These poems are a sensitive and urgent exploration of interior and exterior landscapes: ‘I let myself be embraced / by the world’s slow movement / I expect nothing / from what does not tremble.'”—Kate Deimling, author of Time Traveling
“Hélène Dorion’s My Forests draws a continuous line between tree and poem, between natural and human history. In Susanna Lang’s haunting translation, Dorion’s forests possess a grand, hushed drama that echoes both the author’s inner turmoil and her concern for the environment in our contemporary world. Filled with majesty and disquiet, My Forests asks us to let the trees live long enough to dream.”— Alex Niemi, author of Elephant and award-winning translator
About the Author
HÉLÈNE DORION is a poet, novelist, and essayist who has published nearly forty books, including the novel Not Even the Sound of a River, and her work has been translated into more than fifteen languages. She has won many awards, including a Governor General’s Literary Award. She is a recipient of the prestigious Le Prix Athanase-David, awarded by the Québec government for her body of work and contribution to Québec literature, and the Grand Prix de Poésie of the Académie Française. Her poetry collection, Mes forêts, is the first work by a living woman and a Québécoise to be added to the curriculum for the French Baccalaureate. She was recently named Chevalière of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic and Compagne of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of Québec. Born in Québec City, Dorion divides her time between Orford and Montreal.
SUSANNA LANG is an award-winning poet, translator, and creative writing instructor. She is the author of three poetry collections and the chapbook Like This, and her fourth full-length work, This Spangled Dark, is forthcoming in 2027. Her translations include two collections of poems by Souad Labbize, My Soul Has No Corners and Unfasten the Silk of Your Silence. Her poems, translations, and reviews have appeared in The Common, Asymptote, Tupelo Quarterly, American Life in Poetry, Rhino Reviews, Mayday, and The Slowdown. Lang divides her time between Chicago and Uzès, France.
