Broken Dawn Blessings

Short DescriptionTrillium Book Award–winning poet Adam Sol’s newest collection of contemporary poetry. A collection of poems, loosely linked to the traditional Jewish morning prayers, the Birkhot haShachar, that try to find moments of blessing in the midst of personal and public pain, shame, and worry.Sales and Market Bullets“Sol deserves to be read widely and freely; his humble witness to the simple art of reading may be this book’s most important gift. Libraries should have multiple copies.” — Library Journal, starred review of How a Poem MovesHis first collection, Crowd of Sounds, won Ontario’s Trillium Award for Poetry in 2004. His other collections have been shortlisted for the Raymond Souster Award and the Housatonic Book Award.Sol’s collection covers contemporary issues such as cancer and treatment, civil unrest, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.Sol introduces Hebrew text in this collection and makes connections to Jewish texts and traditions.AudiencePoetry writers and readersMembers of the Jewish communityFans of Adam Sol Trillium Book Award–winning poet Adam Sol’s newest collection is made up of poems that are loosely linked to the traditional Jewish morning prayers, the Birkhot haShachar, which try to find moments of blessing in the midst of personal and public pain, shame, and worryHow do we respond to others’ pain, both the pain of those we love and the larger global pain of those we don’t know? In a religious context, a witness can offer blessing when those in the midst of suffering cannot. Taking on the responsibility of blessing, then, is a way to shoulder that burden for the sufferer. This presupposes the idea that blessing is a necessity — which may be a point up for debate.In the context of his wife’s recovery from surgery, and with civic violence prevalent in his city, the speaker of these poems leans on the structure of the Birkhot haShachar (dawn blessings) to carve out space for empathy, complaint, and occasional flashes of wonder. These poems showcase Sol’s trademark blend of humor and lyric virtuosity, and display his familiarity with Jewish texts and traditions, but add a new intimacy and urgency that break new ground for one of Canada’s most respected poets. It is his most risky and most accomplished collection to date.