Priscila Uppal – författare

In an assured and sophisticated debut novel, celebrated poet Priscila Uppal crafts a dark and suspenseful tale about the crimes of youth that haunt adult life.When she is sent away to a Catholic boarding school, Angela H. finds comfort and rebellion with a group of girls who call themselves The Sisterhood. On the verge of becoming women, the girls taunt and tempt each other with their budding sexuality. Angela’s festering sadness and frustration find a shocking target when the rituals of The Sisterhood take a violent turn at the initiation of angelic Bella.Tormented by her past, Angela seeks refuge in a religious life, hiding herself in the sheltered world of a convent. Now, twenty-five years later, buried evidence of Bella’s death has emerged, threatening to shatter the safety of Angela’s existence and her belief that the sins of the past can be redeemed.With startling emotional depth, Priscila Uppal captures the innocence and cruelty of adolescence, and takes us inside the rarely explored and shadowy world of female religious life.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Hardev Dange is suffering through a tumultuous year. He’s just been informed that the bank is going to foreclose on his house. His fickle daughter Birendra is on the verge of marriage, his son Emile is studying curses (while falling in love with a fellow male grad student), and his younger daughter, Dorothy, who’s deaf, is working at a tattoo and body piercing parlour and collecting stories from the older men languishing at her local hangout. And because he’s confined to a wheelchair, Hardev is dependent on his homecare worker, the kleptomaniac Rodriguez, to help him devise a plan to keep house and home together. In this modern, multicultural re-telling of King Lear, Uppal explores the vulnerability and complexity of family and inheritance. She exposes the tragic and comedic dimensions of our failures to communicate and the consequences of our betrayals, which result in disappointment and disillusionment, but also, unexpectedly, in moments of compassion and love.From the Hardcover edition.

Why are so many contemporary poets writing elegies? Given a century shaped by two world wars, vast population displacements, and shifting attitudes towards aging and death, is the elegy form adaptable to the changing needs of writers and audiences? In a sceptical age, where can consolation be found? In We Are What We Mourn Priscila Uppal examines why and how the work of mourning has drastically changed in the latter half of the twentieth century, focusing on the strong pattern in contemporary English-Canadian elegy that emphasizes connection rather than separation between the living and the dead. Uppal offers a penetrating reading of Canadian elegies that radically challenges English and American elegy traditions as well as long-standing psychological models for successful mourning. She sets up useful categories for elegy study - parental elegies, elegies for places, and elegies for cultural losses and displacements - and suggests where elegy and mourning studies might be headed post 9/11. The first book on the Canadian poetic elegy, We Are What We Mourn challenges all previous ideas about the purpose of mourning and will intrigue anyone interested in how mourning shapes cultural identity.

The most common phrase in print is "cover before striking," a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers.Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. The pyromaniac at the heart of the title story — winner of the Gloria Vanderbilt Short Fiction Prize — desperately uses fire to reconnect with lost lovers and family members. In "Vertigo," an injured Olympic athlete becomes a research guinea pig in a surreal scientific experiment. In "The Boy Next Door," a teenager recounts how her mother took her and fled Canada for Brazil, along with the local Catholic priest.Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire.

The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers.Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. The pyromaniac at the heart of the title story - winner of the Gloria Vanderbilt Short Fiction Prize - desperately uses fire to reconnect with lost lovers and family members. In "e;Vertigo,"e; an injured Olympic athlete becomes a research guinea pig in a surreal scientific experiment. In "e;The Boy Next Door,"e; a teenager recounts how her mother took her and fled Canada for Brazil, along with the local Catholic priest.Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire.

The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers.Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. The pyromaniac at the heart of the title story - winner of the Gloria Vanderbilt Short Fiction Prize - desperately uses fire to reconnect with lost lovers and family members. In "e;Vertigo,"e; an injured Olympic athlete becomes a research guinea pig in a surreal scientific experiment. In "e;The Boy Next Door,"e; a teenager recounts how her mother took her and fled Canada for Brazil, along with the local Catholic priest.Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. Recipes for Dirty Laundry was originally published in the TOK anthology Writing the New Toronto.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. The Boy Next Door was originally published in Blood & Aphorisms magazine.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. Wind Chimes was originally published in The Windsor Review.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. Sleepwalking was originally published in Exile and was nominated for the Journey Prize.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. Three Days Left was originally published in The Fiddlehead and was nominated for the Journey Prize.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. Blind Spot was originally published in Exile.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. This story was winner of the Vanderbilt/Exile Short Story Prize 2013.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. Mycosis was published in Pagitica and nominated for the Journey Prize.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. The Lilies was originally published in Humber Literary Review.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. The Man Who Loved Cats was originally published in Pottersfield Portfolio and a TSAR anthology.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. The Still Body is the Perfect Body was originally published in Smoke.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. At Your Service was originally published in Existere.

This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is "e;cover before striking,"e; a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal's characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. Vertigo was originally published in The Exile Book of Canadian Sports Fiction and Exile magazine.

Essential and engaging essays about the joys and challenges of creative writing and teaching creative writing by a host of Canada’s leading writers.Writing Creative Writing is filled with thoughtful and entertaining essays on the joys and challenges of creative writing, the complexities of the creative writing classroom, the place of writing programs in the twenty-first century, and exciting strategies and exercises for writing and teaching different genres. Written by a host of Canada’s leading writers, including Christian Bök, Catherine Bush, Suzette Mayr, Yvette Nolan, Judith Thompson, and thom vernon, this book is the first of its kind and destined to be a milestone for every creative writing student, teacher, aspirant, and professional.

Essential and engaging essays about the joys and challenges of creative writing and teaching creative writing by a host of Canada’s leading writers.Writing Creative Writing is filled with thoughtful, and entertaining essays on the joys and challenges of creative writing, the complexities of the creative writing classroom, the place of writing programs in the twenty-first century, and exciting strategies and exercises for writing and teaching different genres. Written by a host of Canada’s leading writers, including Christian Bök, Catherine Bush, Suzette Mayr, Yvette Nolan, and Thom Vernon, this book is the first of its kind and destined to be a milestone for every creative writing student, teacher, aspirant, and professional.

Essential and engaging essays about the joys and challenges of creative writing and teaching creative writing by a host of Canada’s leading writers.Writing Creative Writing is filled with thoughtful, and entertaining essays on the joys and challenges of creative writing, the complexities of the creative writing classroom, the place of writing programs in the twenty-first century, and exciting strategies and exercises for writing and teaching different genres. Written by a host of Canada’s leading writers, including Christian Bök, Catherine Bush, Suzette Mayr, Yvette Nolan, and Thom Vernon, this book is the first of its kind and destined to be a milestone for every creative writing student, teacher, aspirant, and professional.

Sabotage is a collection of poems exploring private and public acts of destruction, disruption and vandalism in the 21st century. In Sabotage, several vital sites are under attack or at risk: the human body (including the brain and biological systems); structures of community (including family, nation, and institutional supports); and cultural legacies (including language, artistic works, and historical legacies). The sections of Sabotage frame this investigation of violations through recognisable legal and literary frameworks: Accusations, Discussions, Adaptations, Riddles, Arguments and Defences. But with Priscila Uppal as the ''framing'' poet, the poems are both exact and penetrating, and at the same time startling, surreal and deeply moving. The poet also acts as saboteur, attempting political action and breaking down barriers through the manipulation of language, in order to disrupt the production of goods which have left us with a tampered and soiled legacy. Poetry provides imaginative space for experimentation dissent, and creative problem-solving. Readers of Sabotage will have the potential to assume the role of saboteur - but the crux is, to what end? ''Audacious, irreverent, funny and, at the same time, deeply serious, Priscila Uppal''s poems explore our notions of identity and various other conventions we live by striving to see through the lies. The ever-present horrors of our age; the injustice, the violence, the abuse and slaughter of the innocent, are almost always present. Uppal is a political poet who sounds like no other political poet, someone bound to get in trouble in every political system in the world. Her subject matter tends to be dark, but her telling of it is exhilarating. Every poem in her book comes as a surprise, and that includes the free translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem The Wanderer which in her version deals with the Iraq war and the fate of people displaced by such calamities. Uppal has done the rare and difficult thing: she has brought a brand new voice to poetry'' - John Burnside, Charles Simic & Karen Solie, Griffin Prize judges.

Canada''s Priscila Uppal has gained an international reputation for her boldly provocative poetry in just a dozen years, since publishing her first collection, How to Draw Blood from a Stone, at the age of 23. Noted for their startling imagery, unforgettable characters and visionary lines, her poems are exact and penetrating, yet surreal and deeply moving. Drawing from the scientific to the literary, the medical to the historical, Uppal is as concerned about the inheritance of the past as she is about the tragedies of the present, which makes her both a witness of the terrors and inconsistencies of the past and a messenger of an incomprehensible future. Successful Tragedies includes work from six books published in Canada, including Ontological Necessities, which was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2007, and Traumatology (2010), but excludes her later collection, Sabotage (2015). In these poems she meditates over spilt milk with Freud, has sex with Christopher Columbus, issues warnings to gynaecologists, sets up shelters for virgins from Greek myths and organises a protest on Abraham''s lawn, and much more... Readers experiencing Uppal for the first time will enter a turbulent but vital landscape, discovering a poet dedicated to uncovering the motivations behind our cruelties and our compassions and determined to explore the absurdity of the world. ''Audacious, irreverent, funny and, at the same time, deeply serious, Priscila Uppal''s poems explore our notions of identity and various other conventions we live by striving to see through the lies. The ever-present horrors of our age; the injustice, the violence, the abuse and slaughter of the innocent, are almost always present. Uppal is a political poet who sounds like no other political poet, someone bound to get in trouble in every political system in the world. Her subject matter tends to be dark, but her telling of it is exhilarating. Every poem in her book comes as a surprise, and that includes the free translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem The Wanderer which in her version deals with the Iraq war and the fate of people displaced by such calamities. Uppal has done the rare and difficult thing: she has brought a brand new voice to poetry'' – John Burnside, Charles Simic & Karen Solie, Griffin Prize judges.