Monkey Ranch

(Brick Books; distributed by LitDistCo )
(ISBN 978-1-926829-74-6 )

Buy this title

Download cover

Summary

This collection of poems includes a mandrill, a middle-aged woman, a Baghdad neighbourhood, a long marriage, even a dog who rides with his head through a truck’s passenger window. Julie Bruck’s works grapple with the question: What is sufficient, what will suffice?

Jury Statement

Monkey Ranch by Julie Bruck leaps about the ordinary world with a deft detachment and flexible artistry – guiding us with its offbeat, caring and companionable sensibility. “There’s enough light to see by,” says Julie Bruck, even though the children turn their eyes away. This humane voice, quirky and patient, will see you through a world stripped of miracles.

Editor Sue Sinclair from Brick Books representing Julie Bruck (GG 2012, poetry) at the Canada Council for the Arts' public announcement of the 2012 winners of the Governor General's Literary Awards.

Download photo

Biography

Known for her conversational, direct style, Julie Bruck has published in leading U.S. and Canadian magazines and journals, including The New Yorker, Ms, The Walrus, Maisonneuve and The Malahat Review. She has received numerous awards, including the A.M. Klein Award for Poetry, two Pushcart Prize nominations and two gold Canadian National Magazine Awards. She wins her first GG award in 2012 with Monkey Ranch, published 13 years after her previous two collections. Born and raised in Montréal, Julie Bruck is currently based in San Francisco where she teaches poetry for the Writing Salon in San Francisco’s Mission district.