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Thimbles
In this heart-wrenching collection, Vanessa Shields chronicles the life of her Nonna, Maria, from her origins as a seamstress in Italy to her eventual death from dementia. These raw, prosaic poems thread grief, memory, loss, and love into a conversation that speaks across pages, years, and oceans. Shields bravely interrogates her own feelings of guilt, grief, and curiosity with unflinching precision. As she navigates and accepts Nonna’s decline, Shields takes on the role of witness excavating the larger narrative that is her Nonna’s legacy. Thimbles is a courageous celebration of the transformative power of love across generations.
- GenresPoetry
80 pages, Paperback
Published April 29, 2021
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Shields
9 books15 followersShields is a writer/poet/editor/teacher and the owner of Gertrude's Writing Room, a small office and creative school that offers workshops and classes, and editing and mentoring services. Shields has been reading and writing her whole life, and is passionate about sharing her love of writing and literacy. She teaches workshops to students in all levels of education, and has organized/participated in hundreds of literary events in Canada, Ontario and beyond.
She has three published poetry books, one memoir, and hopes to have her fiction and childrens' books published soon!
She lives and loves and writes in Windsor, ON.
Visit Gertrude's Writing Room:
www.gertrudeswritingroom.com
Visit her personal website:
www.vanessashields.com
She has three published poetry books, one memoir, and hopes to have her fiction and childrens' books published soon!
She lives and loves and writes in Windsor, ON.
Visit Gertrude's Writing Room:
www.gertrudeswritingroom.com
Visit her personal website:
www.vanessashields.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 27, 2021
"i found her dressmaker's shears while she was sleeping/i cut into her past & freed up her laughter" (p. 44)
I loved it! Thimbles is Vanessa Shields's best poetry collection to date. Her work not only explores a new maturity in subject matter but her use of the sewing and mountain themes and motifs beautifully stitch together the narrative thread of her 94 poems.
At first, I wasn't sure I would be able to handle another book about grief especially during the pandemic lockdown, but Shields's poetic tribute to her nonna read like a well-crafted novel. Divided into three sections: un bacin d'amor; only the good lasts; and domani e un altro giorno, the work pulls in the reader with the introduction of nonna as child, teen, seamstress, and mother and then builds on family relationships, followed by the challenges of her dementia and her family's reactions to her demise.
"she is threads of light" (p. 83) "dimples like the tip of a thimble" (p. 83)
Heartwarming, tender, personal! A colour-coordinated patchwork of lyrical emotions! Hear my applause!
DISCLOSURE: Vanessa Shields is a close friend/editor of mine and I received a free Advance Reading Copy (PDF version) of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
UPDATED ON APRIL 26, 2021 - A virtual launch of Thimbles is scheduled for Thursday, April 29, 2021. A more comprehensive review and a Q & A with the poet appears on my blog Kites Without Strings. Here is the link: https://okunhill.wordpress.com/2021/0...
I loved it! Thimbles is Vanessa Shields's best poetry collection to date. Her work not only explores a new maturity in subject matter but her use of the sewing and mountain themes and motifs beautifully stitch together the narrative thread of her 94 poems.
At first, I wasn't sure I would be able to handle another book about grief especially during the pandemic lockdown, but Shields's poetic tribute to her nonna read like a well-crafted novel. Divided into three sections: un bacin d'amor; only the good lasts; and domani e un altro giorno, the work pulls in the reader with the introduction of nonna as child, teen, seamstress, and mother and then builds on family relationships, followed by the challenges of her dementia and her family's reactions to her demise.
"she is threads of light" (p. 83) "dimples like the tip of a thimble" (p. 83)
Heartwarming, tender, personal! A colour-coordinated patchwork of lyrical emotions! Hear my applause!
DISCLOSURE: Vanessa Shields is a close friend/editor of mine and I received a free Advance Reading Copy (PDF version) of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
UPDATED ON APRIL 26, 2021 - A virtual launch of Thimbles is scheduled for Thursday, April 29, 2021. A more comprehensive review and a Q & A with the poet appears on my blog Kites Without Strings. Here is the link: https://okunhill.wordpress.com/2021/0...
November 27, 2022
Really loved everything about this book of poetry: the cover, the layout, the emotion and the universal message that is sent down from grandmothers to granddaughters
April 11, 2021
A poignant tribute to her Nonna divided into three parts that contain progressively shorter poems: 'un bacin d'amor', 'only the good lasts' and 'domani e un altro giorno'. Shields explores her grandmother's immigrant experience and her journey into dementia and death through the metaphors of sewing.
"She is a clothing department/ going out of business", "the loss of her/ will transform/ me to basted stitches", "I am afraid to unpin," There is a particularly tender poem about giving her Nonna her
first manicure. In startling contrast are two poems that deal with sharing a bath as a child and later washing the grandmother as part of palliative care. The title is a very strong symbol that becomes
an heirloom, a tattoo and the grandmother, herself. A collection about grief and love that transcends.
"She is a clothing department/ going out of business", "the loss of her/ will transform/ me to basted stitches", "I am afraid to unpin," There is a particularly tender poem about giving her Nonna her
first manicure. In startling contrast are two poems that deal with sharing a bath as a child and later washing the grandmother as part of palliative care. The title is a very strong symbol that becomes
an heirloom, a tattoo and the grandmother, herself. A collection about grief and love that transcends.
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March 29, 2023An honest book about love and loss that somehow manages to make you grateful for both.
May 23, 2025
Beautifully written and heartbreaking in its honesty.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews