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Marilyn’s Year In Books

Marilyn’s 2024 Year in Books

Take a look at Marilyn’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Marilyn’s 2024 Year in Books

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Vannessa Anderson

4,279 books | 2,538 friends

Andrea MacPherson

1,789 books | 91 friends

D.A. Schneider

566 books | 866 friends

Andrea

2,433 books | 4,751 friends

Genni Gunn

233 books | 53 friends

Robyn

889 books | 95 friends

Author & Book Promotions

106 books | 4,763 friends

Shawna Lemay

227 books | 608 friends

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Marilyn Bowering

Goodreads Author

Born

Winnipeg, Canada

Website

http://www.marilynbowering.com

Genre

Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction

Influences

Vasily Grossman, Robert Louis Stevenson, Czesław Miłosz, Emily Carr.

Member Since

December 2008

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MARILYN BOWERING’s first novel, To All Appearances A Lady, was a New York Times Notable Book. Her second novel, Visible Worlds, was short-listed for the prestigious Orange Prize, nominated for the Dublin IMPAC Prize, and awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Visible Worlds was praised by The Independent as “a tour de force … a wonderful piece of storytelling” and by The New York Times Book Review as “a vast, sprawling feast of a book.” Her novel What it Takes to Be Human was praised by The Globe and Mail as “a great novel… [Bowering] does not seek moments to be brilliant: those moments just arrive.” A new novel, The Unfinished World, was published in late 2025. Bill Gaston, author of Juliet Was a Surprise and The World, called The Unfinis MARILYN BOWERING’s first novel, To All Appearances A Lady, was a New York Times Notable Book. Her second novel, Visible Worlds, was short-listed for the prestigious Orange Prize, nominated for the Dublin IMPAC Prize, and awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Visible Worlds was praised by The Independent as “a tour de force … a wonderful piece of storytelling” and by The New York Times Book Review as “a vast, sprawling feast of a book.” Her novel What it Takes to Be Human was praised by The Globe and Mail as “a great novel… [Bowering] does not seek moments to be brilliant: those moments just arrive.” A new novel, The Unfinished World, was published in late 2025. Bill Gaston, author of Juliet Was a Surprise and The World, called The Unfinished World "a beautiful, insightful novel that performs a remarkable trick with history, time, and memory, a brilliant interweaving that is both teasingly cerebral as well as richly heartfelt.”

More Richly in Earth, part memoir and part literary investigation of a 17th century female Scottish Gaelic bard, was published by McGill Queen’s Press in 2024 and was long-listed for the Saltire Prize. The Scottish Gaelic writer Maoilios Caimbeul called it "a major work."

Marilyn Bowering is also an award-winning poet and librettist. Jan Zwicky says of Bowering, Her brilliant imagistic gift is always offered in service to the mystery of insight, the other invisible worlds gathered close in this one. Bowering’s poetry includes Human Bodies: Collected Poems 1987-1999, Green, an interplay of form and conversations and Soul Mouth, a book of story and memoir poems. With Threshold (photographs by Xan Shian), Marilyn Bowering extends the conversation to an encounter with a 17th century female Scottish Gaelic bard. Of What Is Long Past Occurs in Full Light (illustrations by Ken Laidlaw), Jan Zwicky comments, Despite her unflinching acknowledgement of the horrors humans visit on themselves and others, her vision is grounded in the subtle integrity of love. A new book of poetry, Frayed Linens, will be published in November 2025.

Marilyn Bowering has received many poetry prizes including the Ruth and David Lampe Award, the Gwen MacEwen Poetry prize, the Pat Lowther Prize, the Dorothy Livesay Prize, several National Magazine Awards, two nominations for the Governor General’s award, and shortlisting for the Prix Italia and the Sony Award. An opera, Marilyn Forever (composer Gavin Bryars), has received production premieres (2013-2022) in Victoria, BC; Long Beach, Ca.; Adelaide, Australia; Vienna, Austria; Oxford and Glasgow, UK; and Hagen and Saarbrücken, Germany. Bowering’s work has been translated into a number of languages including Spanish, Finnish, German, Romanian, Russian, and Punjabi.
Marilyn Bowering was born in Winnipeg and grew up in Victoria, BC. She has lived in various parts of Canada and in Greece, Scotland and Spain and now makes her home on Vancouver Island.
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Marilyn Bowering's Blog

Childhood

Recently, the filmmaker Anna Tchernakova asked me, for a project she’s working on, to think of three objects from my childhood bedroom that were so essential that if I had them again, I’d be able to re-create the room. We moved many times when I was a child, but the room I think of first is the one that has been in my mind when I’ve been writing the poems in Soul Mouth (www.ExileEditions.com ISB

Combine Editions
Marilyn Bowering’s books

Average rating: 3.79 · 338 ratings · 53 reviews · 43 distinct works • Similar authors

	To All Appearances a Lady 3.83 avg rating — 101 ratings — published 1989 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Visible Worlds 3.57 avg rating — 86 ratings — published 1997 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What It Takes to Be Human 3.55 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2006 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cat's Pilgrimage 3.86 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2004 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Anyone Can See I Love You 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1987	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	More Richly in Earth: A Poet’s Search for Mary MacLeod 4.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2024 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Green 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Breaking the Surface by Marilyn Bowering (Goodreads Author), Susan Musgrave 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2000	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Alchemy of Happiness 2.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sunday Before Winter: The New and Selected Poetry of Marilyn Bowering really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 1984	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Marilyn’s Recent Updates

Marilyn is now friends with Alex Helm
Oct 26, 2025 06:00PM · like
Marilyn rated a book it was amazing Ruin, Blossom by John Burnside	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Marilyn rated a book it was amazing Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death by Laura Cumming	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 04, 2025 05:06PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Thunderclap by Laura Cumming. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Thunderclap by Laura Cumming <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Sep 19, 2024 02:11PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Thunderclap by Laura Cumming. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Thunderclap by Laura Cumming <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Marilyn is now following Russell Thornton's reviews
Jun 15, 2024 04:03PM · like
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Jun 15, 2024 04:02PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Thunderclap by Laura Cumming. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Thunderclap by Laura Cumming <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Marilyn Bowering (?)

“I open the closet door,
and my mother’s cloak
falls into my arms —

as if it were herself
emerging from the dark corners
of the unseen and unworn.

She thought life would dress her
in brilliance. She cried out —
How lucky to be alive! ”
― Marilyn Bowering, Green

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