Book Synopsis

Memory is stored in the body. Memory sprouts in families and is transmitted from one generation to the next. Memory imprints at the level of bone. In Bonememory, Anna Veprinska bares down to the marrow.

An expert lyric poet writing at the intersection of memory and pain, Veprinska fearlessly traces intergenerational histories of struggle and survival. This collection confronts the indelible marks left by immigration, the Holocaust, Canadian settler-colonialism, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Amid these various upheavals, Veprinska finds herself within her own body, facing chronic illness and navigating disability.

Bonememory is an investigation of history and memory studded with moments of insight and revelation. Written with a keen eye and close attention, these poems balance lyrical tenderness and formal experimentation, never forgetting that extending into another can be an act of care and an act of invasion.

Review Quotes

Veprinska is a puppeteer of poetry and matryoshka marionettes, healing trauma through empathy and memory.