Holy Wild by Gwen Benaway

“In Holy Wild, Benaway sounds forth a chorus of pronouncements that look something like I am “x,” where “x” is at once unavailable to some and ever-proliferating: “this is what makes us holy / even if we are the only ones / who know it.” It is in this refusal of singularity that Benaway conjures trans life in a place that is both prior to and in excess of the violence that mires it. “[T]he first day of forever” is forever, is recursive, is softness, is an intimate life outside of the wrath of men who spoil the categories we install hope in, but, above all else, it is the emotional infrastructure for something like freedom. Let Benaway lead you there.” —Billy-Ray Belcourt, author of This Wound is a World

Press Coverage for Holy Wild:

“These confessional yet sometimes difficult poems about the Indigenous trans body are lyrical, rhythmic and fierce. It was an extraordinary experience reading this burning, honest manifesto. In her poem ‘A Love Letter for Trans Girls,’ Benaway says, ‘welcome to the first day of forever… you are enough.’” —Jury Citation, Governor General’s Literary Awards

Most Anticipated: Our Fall 2018 Poetry Preview —49th Shelf

Fall 2018 Preview Selection: Poetry — Quill and Quire

“Our Intimate Relations Reveal so much of our Oppressions,” an Interview with Gwen Benaway —James Lindsay, Open Book

Breakfast Television interview with Gwen Benaway —Breakfast Television Toronto

“With Holy Wild, Benaway pursues something more than mere visibility or survival in a world bent on destruction where “anthropology is another word / for rape” and violence passes as love. Unapologetically, she dares to imagine and celebrate Indigenous transness as radical softness, as sexually active resistance that doesn’t entail oppression, but an urgent desire to be here, right now, despite a reality that refuses to acknowledge or even allow its existence in the first place.” —Anomaly

50 of the Best LGBT Books of 2018 —Autostraddle

Gwen Benaway a finalist in the trans and gender-variant literature category at Triangle Awards —Quill and Quire

13 Books By Queer Poets To Add To Your Reading List —Buzzfeed

The Chat with Governor General’s Literary Award Winner Gwen Benaway —49th Shelf

80 of the Best Queer, Lesbian and Bisexual Books of the Decade —Autostraddle

“Gifted, graceful and gutsy, Benaway has a poetic voice and clarity that is truly a gift for the reader.” —Kevin Irie, Vallum Contemporary Poetry

“Benaway’s Holy Wild is a revelation.” —Sarah Dowling, Canadian Literature

Gwen Benaway is of Anishinaabe and Métis descent. She has published two collections of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead and Passage. A Two-Spirited Trans poet, she has been described as the spiritual love child of Tomson Highway and Anne Sexton. She has received many distinctions and awards, including the Dayne Ogilvie Honour of Distinction for Emerging Queer Authors from the Writers’ Trust of Canada. Her poetry and essays have been published in national publications and anthologies, including The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s Magazine, CBC Arts, and many others. She was born in Wingham, Ontario and currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.