Mating in Captivity

by Genni Gunn

Mating in Captivity is a disturbing and powerful as a recurring dream. The poet conjures up memories of her romantic childhood in Italy -- a charismatic father often absent on secretive business, a loving mother who consoles her family with art -- and translates this relationship into her own experience of searching for genuine love. Like whooping cranes that must be taught how to mate when born in captivity, Genni Gunn offers us a vision of how to make love within the constraints of our arid society.

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

Author of six works of fiction (3 novels and 3 short story collections), 1 book of creative nonfiction, 2 books of poetry, 3 collections of poetry translated from Italian, and an opera libretto -- the opera (music by John Oliver) was produced by Chants Libres in Montreal, 2007.

Her work has been translated into Italian, Dutch and Chinese. Her novel Tracing Iris was made into a film The Riverbank. Her last novel, Solitaria was longlisted for the Giller prize and published in Dutch and Italian. Her newest book, Permanent Tourists a collection of short stories, came out in October 2020.