Oct 2010 | 6 x 9 | 84 pp | 978-1-926655-04-8 | $16.95

So Large an Animal

Poetry by Bibiana Tomasic

From A for Bibiana to Z for Zagreb, this book tells how Bibiana Tomasic came to be, adding sensuality to common sense, voluptuousness to vision in the one pot of poetry, carried from Croatia to a kitchen in Vancouver. These poems stir her history and current surroundings into an identity, like ‘the large blue rivers of her childhood that ran beneath the skin of her grandmother’s massive soft calves’ — tough enough to march on its old legs and stomach; new, light and witty enough to dance in the eyes and mind of the reader.

—George McWhirter

Here are poems of lament, tribute, reclamation and celebration that connect the author’s cultural roots and childhood experiences of immigration from Croatia with her life growing up and raising a family in Canada. The author skilfully weaves together richly textured poems about relationships with grandparents, parents, children and husband, depicting the intricate and multi-hued fabric of a life and a family.

—Fiona Tinwei Lam

Photo by Candice Albach, Albach Studios

Bibiana Tomasic was born in Croatia. She immigrated with her parents to Germany when she was nine, to Canada when she was eleven. She received her B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1981. In 1998 she received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. This is her first book of poetry.

Cover Image: Blue Nude III by Henri Mattisse