MELANIE SIEBERT
Writer
Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award in Poetry
Melanie Siebert’s stunning debut collection travels remote northern rivers, as well as two of Canada’s most threatened rivers, the Athabasca and the North Saskatchewan. These rivers push the poems into a contemplation of loss and into the terrain of Alexander Mackenzie’s dreams, a busker’s broken-down street riffs, and the borderland wanderings of a grandmother whose absence is felt as a presence.
The poems’ currents are turbulent, braided, submerged. Narrative streams appear like tributaries glimpsed through brush, and then veer into unexpected territories, where boundaries blur – between the self and the other, between the living and the dead, between the human and the wild – and loss carries with it both music and silence. In this virtuoso collection, Melanie Siebert has transformed language into that rarest thing, a singular poetic vision.
IN THE PRESS
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“...profound, deeply intellectual, and rooted in the landscape of the north. Siebert is a poet to reread and enjoy on multiple levels.”
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“Melanie Siebert’s poems are incandescent marvels. In language both stark and playful, she beautifully limns the natural world and our place within it. Siebert’s work forces us to confront the ways in which we damage the very thing that sustains us. She is a stunning writer certain to make a lasting contribution.”
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“…moody, bric-a-brac, wildly energetic language. Deepwater Vee never leaves my bedside table. I need it.”
Candace Fertile, TIMES COLONIST
Esi Edguyan, WRITERS' TRUST OF CANADA
Cornelia Hoogland, LEAGUE OF CANADIAN POETS
Winner of the Lane Anderson Award for Best Science Writing for Young Readers in Canada
Finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize from the BC and Yukon Book Awards
Featuring real-life stories of people who have found hope and meaning in the midst of life’s struggles, Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health is the go-to guide for teenagers who want to know about mental health, mental illness, trauma and recovery.
This book moves beyond a biomedical focus and considers the latest science that shows how trauma and social inequality impact mental health. It explores how mental health is more than just “in our heads” and includes the voices of Indigenous people who share a more holistic way of thinking about wellness, balancing mind, body, heart and spirit. Highlighting innovative approaches such as trauma-informed activities like yoga and hip-hop, police mental health teams, and peer support for youth, Heads Up shares the stories of people who are sparking change.
IN THE PRESS
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“A sense of respect imbues every page…Everything in this book reassures the troubled teen that they are not alone, need not suffer in silence, and can forge a unique pathway to wellness. The value of this book cannot be overstated or underestimated.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY CONNECTION
★ “Informative, diverse, and highly engaging; a much-needed addition to the realm of mental health.”
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KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review
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“[A] helpful handbook...In easy-to-read chapters, Siebert skillfully breaks down what mental health is...An informative and nonintimidating work; a suitable addition for libraries needing to add to their mental health collection.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
BIO
Melanie Siebert's first poetry collection, Deepwater Vee (M&S), was a finalist for Canada's Governor General's Literary Award. Her book for young readers Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health won the Lane Anderson Award for best science writing in Canada and was a finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize.
Melanie completed an MFA at the University of Victoria where she received the Lieutenant Governor's Silver Medal for her master's thesis. She has worked as a wilderness guide on remote rivers in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Alaska for decades. Melanie’s has had work published in Canadian Geographic, The Globe and Mail, and The Walrus and her poems have been included in various anthologies, including Best Canadian Poetry in English, Thinking With Water, Force Field: 77 Women Poets of BC, and Refugium: Poems for the Pacific.
Melanie is also a therapist practicing in Victoria, BC.