Wires that Sputter Poems

A powerful debut collection from an award-winning artist, public speaker, and poet.

Trillium Book Award for Poetry, Finalist
Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, Shortlist
Pat Lowther Memorial Award, Shortlist
Raymond Souster Award, Longlist

With propulsive, intimate stylings and an eye toward Black liberations, pop culture, sports, and familial fractures, Wires that Sputter meets the world with the posture of a portraitist and the deftness of a poet-as-acrobat, as seeker. Here in these wondrous poems is an attentiveness toward that which harrows as well as that which heals, toward the power of space-giving and fragmentation. Rupture and recovery, tribute and tribulation, a revivifying musicality, and room to breathe—all dapple these pages, where electricity manifests in every line.

Britta Badour, better known as Britta B., is a Toronto based award-winning artist, poet, and educator. As a spoken word performer, she has featured at notable events such as The Walrus Talks, TEDx, as well as international literature festivals like Women of the World Poetry Slam and LitFest Bergen. She is the recipient of the Breakthrough Artist Award (Toronto Arts Foundation, 2021) and Lecturer of the Year (COCA, 2021). Britta holds an MFA in creative writing from University of Guelph and teaches spoken word performance at Seneca College.