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\u201cFraser\u2019s poetry provides rich pieces to share and consider.\u201d \u2014Toronto Star<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“With a rare sort of graceful simplicity, [Fraser] takes readers boldly by the wrist and thrusts them into a room full of voices.\u201d \u2014Arc Poetry Magazine<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMichael Fraser, that prized poet \u2013 his Eyes Wide Open \u2013 be always surprised by how love uplifts us and always lets us down. Mom faces fists, while cool-hand Pops slicks ickily away, a poltergeist in polyester; or the beloved gal is always gone so long and way too soon; or the darling daughter gotta be street-proofed against the \u201cside-eye\u201d and the \u201cn-word.\u201d What I\u2019s sayin is, in With My Eyes Wide Open<\/em>, MF be breathtakingly personal, but also maybe at his personal best, and that\u2019s sayin a lot, cos the dude got a display case full of trophies for Best Poem, Best Poetry, Best Poet! Rightly so! From the opening lines of the first poem, \u201cIn Passing,\u201d you gonna hear blues memory; and then, in the lovelorn lyrics, you sound bossa nova lovemakin & R & B heartbreakin. Keep yo eyes on this prize!\u201d \u2014George Elliott Clarke, Canada\u2019s Parliamentarian Poet Laureate Emeritus<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Fraser of Toronto was published in Best Canadian Poetry in English<\/em>, 2013 and 2018. He has won numerous awards, including Freefall Magazin<\/em>e\u2019s 2014 and 2015 poetry contests, the 2016 CBC Poetry Prize, the 2018 Gwendolyn MacEwen Poetry Competition, and the League of Canadian Poets\u2019 2022 Lesley Strutt Poetry Prize. With My Eyes Wide Open<\/em> is his fourth poetry collection.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With My Eyes Wide Open<\/em> navigates life’s catastrophes, failures, and coming through experiential slaughter revived and reborn to new possibilities. The biographical themes of grief, family, and resiliency amid the backdrop of racism and near-poverty are explored with earnestness and no filter. This is confessional poetry where the poet acknowledges his wanton decisions with deft poetic skill, astute creativity, and imaginative flair. This is not a book of victimhood, but one of triumph!<\/span><\/p>\n

Poetry 2023 \u2022 5 x 7.75 inches \u2022 PB 74 pages \u2022 9781990773068<\/span><\/p>\n

This book is a result of The Excelsis Group\u2019s Mentoring Program (sponsored by BMO Financial) in which Michael Fraser worked one-on-one with Toronto\u2019s current Poet Laureate (at that time), A.F. Moritz.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_cat":[313,587],"product_tag":[554,590,591,592],"class_list":["post-5964","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","product_cat-poetry","product_cat-black-culturally-diverse-latin","product_tag-bipoc","product_tag-contemporary-poetry","product_tag-cultural","product_tag-literary-award-winner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=5964"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exileeditions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=5964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}