National Network for Equitable Library Service

Deriving explores infertility, motherhood, and family, while troubling the colonial legacies of the English language and Canadian identity. A feminist exploration of ancestral and etymological origins, Jennifer Bowering Delisle's critical collection asks how does language impact our ways of being in the world? How do historical voices echo in the present? How does past infertility colour the experience of new motherhood? Within these poems, the rich material of mothering is embraced with unapologetic honesty, confronting the erasure of experiences that some would keep hidden. Fear, anger, envy mixes with joy and ultimately hope, as the challenges of conceiving and raising children in both familial and global contexts are explored. Deriving is a poignant, lyrical meditation on longing, place, embodiment, and ultimately, the miracle of life.