Signs of Subversive Innocents travels the depth of human experience from the celebratory to the delusional. This debut collection by Cora Siré tells of characters and realms, both distant and familiar, with vibrant intensity and lyricism. The poems speak of physical and metaphysical signs—omens, gestures, creations, and other markings or traces of human existence—and the impulse to subvert destiny, the tension between actuality and desire that underlies beauty, terror, desperation, and triumph. Uniquely structured around a quartet set in an abandoned marble quarry, the poems resonate for their ingenuity and range while evoking the search for connection in a complex world.

Cora Siré lives in Montréal where she writes fiction, essays and poetry. She is the author of two novels, Behold Things Beautiful (Signature Editions, 2016), The Other Oscar (Quattro Books, 2016) and Signs of Subversive Innocents (Signature Editions, 2014), a collection of poetry. Her work has been shortlisted for various literary prizes. Born in Canada, she often writes of elsewheres, drawing on her encounters in faraway places as well as her family’s history of displacement.

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