[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] CBC Books’s original writing series, “Transmission,” reflecting on life during COVID-19. brings us a beautiful poem by Olive Senior, inspired by the death of George Floyd, “B for Breathe.” See the full article at  CBC Books.

Olive Senior has been sharing poems on Twitter throughout the pandemic in a series called Pandemic Poetry. You can check those out at @olivesenior. “B for Breathe” was first published as part of Pandemic Poems.

Olive Senior is the author of 18 books of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature. She is a winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and her collection Over the Roofs of the World was shortlisted for the 2005 Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. In 2019, Senior delivered the prestigious Margaret Laurence Lecture. Her latest book is the children’s picture book Boonoonoonous Hair, which was illustrated by Laura James.

For more information, see https://www.cbc.ca/books/transmission/the-death-of-george-floyd-inspired-this-powerful-poem-by-olive-senior-1.5603544