Join us at Flying Books for the launch of Non-Prophet by Qurat Dar and The Reign by Shane Neilson, with friend Shannon Arntfield (Python Love). The poets will be in discussion with poet and editor Jim Johnstone. A signing will follow their discussion.
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Non-Prophet is the Winner of the inaugural Claire Harris Poetry Prize. Qurat Dar’s bold debut collection explores what it is to grapple with faith that’s “just another language you’re losing, or one you never learned to speak.” Weaving through the boundaries of language and form, Non-Prophet meditates on things “just mundane enough to be holy / just holy enough to be mundane” — the death of a bird, the cries of mid-nightmare prayers, the misplaced shame of what it is to bleed. Dar’s poems both rage and reconcile, holding gently the pieces of a fractured identity.
The Reign by Shane Neilson is the swirling, ever-shifting story of a land that endures industrialism and a love that refuses subordination. From lyrics to prose, images to echolalia, this unforgettable myth drifts effortlessly through a wide range of forms and registers to deliver a breathtaking, unparalleled tale.
Python Love by Shannon Arntfield weaves together experiences of childhood abuse, birth trauma, and recovery from the perspective of a medical doctor who is also a mother. In her debut collection, Shannon Arntfield delves into the many ways in which the body recalls what has been done to it. Long, breathtaking sequences set within medical facilities during labour and delivery are juxtaposed with spare, lyrical reflections on ideas of memory, natural spaces, implicit love, and the relationships between parents and children. Full of precise observations, careful renderings, and visceral originality, Python Love is focused on how the body and mind are inextricably linked, how the past can overwhelm and inform the present, and how recovery is tied to love and connection.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
QURAT DAR was Mississauga’s Youth Poet Laureate from 2021 to 2023 and the 2020 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS) National Champion. Her poetry has been published by Arc, Room, and Canthius, and shown at the Art Gallery of Mississauga and across the TTC network.
SHANE NEILSON (mad/autistic) is a poet born in New Brunswick whose work is inspired by rural land lapped by the Saint John River. His is the author of more than a dozen volumes of poetry and prose, including You May Not Take the Sad and Angry Consolations (icehouse poetry, 2022). Amongst a long list of accolades, Shane's work has been awarded the Hamilton Book Prize and the Miramichi Reader Book of the Year. He has also been nominated for the Trillium Poetry Prize. His poetry has appeared widely in international publications such as POETRY (US), Prairie Schooner (US), and Magma (UK). In 2025, he is serving as a judge for the Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine.
SHANNON ARNTFIELD is a second career trauma-informed therapist and poet who turned to writing and psychological care in response to her lived experience as a child-mother-daughter and obstetrician-gynecologist. Her writing explores the bodymind continuum, the transformative power of vulnerability, and the challenges and rewards of renegotiating trauma. Her debut chapbook is Fallen Horseman and individual poems have appeared in Contemporary Verse 2, PRISM International, The Antigonish Review, The Examined Life, and Snapdragon Journal.
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