West Meets East by Adora Wong

Adora Wong has made the 2018 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for West Meets East.

• 30 writers make longlist for the 2018CBC Poetry Prize

About Adora

Adora Wong is a Canadian violinist and teacher residing in Miramichi, N.B. Originally from Vancouver, Adora holds a Master of Music from the University of Ottawa and is a former member of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Adora is active in creating classical music opportunities in New Brunswick and in fostering social change through orchestral music with the Sistema N.B. program.

Entry in five-ish words

Scenes from a first-generation childhood.

The poem's source of inspiration

"The scenes depicted in this poem stem from my childhood in multicultural Vancouver. Growing up as the first born-Canadian in my family, I embraced floating in between diverse cultures as part of my daily routine, resulting in images of everyday life from each."

First lines

it was not my Promised Land
where my mother's eyes danced
when cotton fell from the sky
and Japanese cherries heralded spring
and her palette was tickled by spices from all nations.

About the 2018CBCPoetry Prize

The winner of the 2018CBCPoetry Prizewill receive$6,000 from theCanada Council for the Arts, will have their work published onCBC Booksandwill have the opportunity to attend a writing residency attheBanff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from theCanada Council for the Artsand have their workpublished onCBC Books.