{"product_id":"if-i-were-god-genevieve-chornenki-9781777496302","title":"If I Were God: Poems for People Who Don't Read Poetry","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIf I Were God\u003c\/em\u003e is a collection of accessible poetry and prose. Taking her cue from cookbook authors like Yotam Ottolenghi who introduce recipes with personal vignettes, Genevieve Chornenki presents her poems with short lead-ins. In language that is musical but never mystifying, she explains what inspired each poem and alerts readers to sound patterns and poetic forms. She points out role models like W.H. Auden, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost, and Phillip Larkin whose works remain accessible to people from all walks of life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGenevieve takes the pretentiousness right out of poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-Chris Swail, Life \u0026amp; Health \u003c\/em\u003eCoach\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGenevieve welcomes avid readers who shy away from poetry because they find it baffling or opaque. Her poems reach for the power we all long for in today's confounding world. She dares to address public figures like Meng Wanzhou and Vladimir Putin, and weighs in on contemporary issues from ambient city noise to farrowing crates, from the failings of the great I AM to the hubris of modern obituaries. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReading Genevieve's work appeals to my ego and makes me feel much smarter than I am.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-Kelley Korbin, Communications Strategist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGenevieve's poetry-lyrical, other-worldly, and transformational-is, above all else, accessible to readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-Cheryl Gaster, Human Rights Mediator \u0026amp; Retired Lawyer\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGenevieve's visually vivid poetry engages me the way films do. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-Yuanda Zheng, Literacy \u0026amp; Numeracy Educator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI haven't read poetry since university and enjoyed finding the muscles again. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-Ian Taylor, Payments Executive\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe poems in \u003cem\u003eIf I Were God\u003c\/em\u003e conjure equal amounts of wonder and woe, traversing the human condition. We are cicadas, Genevieve suggests, creatures who mature from darkness to light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe sightless ones drawing root sap\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethirteen years or more, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewaxen and white in silent slots, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epinioned by demands of the day\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e-diapers and dubious careers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ememos and deadlines-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enow moult and creep to the light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot to mate and die-such waste!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebut for our ravenous eyes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand the songs they stir.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot for the praise of peers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eor those curious ears\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estraining to gauge our heft\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enor the worry of success, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe journal acceptance, the publisher's yes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut for the rough touch of bark\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe set of our wings\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe scent of coming rain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea belly full of air.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Genevieve Chornenki\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1777496306\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781777496302\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Brandon House Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/28\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 166\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.51lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.38d","brand":"Genevieve Chornenki","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48446947885311,"sku":"9781777496302","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_aafdad77-aac2-4451-8f5e-41532c6e314d.jpg?v=1777227798","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/if-i-were-god-genevieve-chornenki-9781777496302","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}