Collected Works

Book: Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene

by Alessandra Naccarato

Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene invites readers to join a contemplation of survival—our own, and that of the elements that surround us. Using research, lyric prose, and first-hand experiences, Alessandra Naccarato addresses fundamental questions about our modern relationship to nature amidst depictions of landscapes undergoing dramatic transformation.

We trace the veins of harm, memory and meaning amongst ecosystems and bioregions; through history and across continents, from the mines of Cerro Rico to the ruins of Pompeii. Arranged by five central elements of survival—earth, fire, water, air and spirit—these essays refute linearity, just as nature does.

Naccarato offers not blanket answers about our future, but rather myriad ways to find our own, individual response to an imminent question. We are being called to work together; to dig a trench deep and wide enough that the fires around us might stay at bay. How do we turn towards the fire?

Book: Re-Origin of Species

by Alessandra Naccarato

Awarded the AICW-Bressani Literary Award for Poetry, Shortlisted for the 2020 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, Longlisted for the 2020 Pat Lowther Memorial Award

From hybrid bodies to shifting landscapes, Re-Origin of Species blurs the lines of the real. These poems journey through illness and altered states to position disability and madness as evolutionary traits; skilled adaptations aligned with ecological change.

A lyric contemplation of our relationship to the environment, this book looks at the interdependence of species. Weaving personal narratives with a study of the insect kingdom, it draws parallels between human illness, climate change, and the state of peril in the natural world.

Poem: Postcards for my Sister

Winner of the 2017 CBC Poetry Prize.

For coverage, a recorded reading and the full text of the poem:

CBC: Postcards for my Sister by Alessandra Naccarato

CBC: How Alessandra Naccarato wrote the poem that won the CBC Poetry Prize

Readings