Exactly My Own Length

by Olivia McCannon

Beguiling and lyrical, this first collection of poetry by writer Olivia McCannon measures out memories and builds memorials for the departed. Resonant with family history, these poems resurrect the past in tender portraits and remembrances while also conveying an awareness of borders and foreignness due to the poet’s experiences in translation.  

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[TJ May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning collection that should have won all the awards. One of the most beautiful reflections on grief and mourning that I’ve ever read, up there with The Goldfinch and Camera Lucida and those pages in Proust when his grandmother dies... I cried from the first page to the last. And the language is constantly surprising, there’s so many new ideas and images here it’s difficult to keep up with them, much less remember or list them.