At First Lonely (M) by Tanya Davis – and designed by Matt Reid – is the winner of Salty Ink’s 2011 Judge a Book by its Cover Contest.
Here’s what Salty Ink has to say about Tanya Davis, Halifax’s Poet Laureate:
“Tanya has an uncanny ability to shrink the biggest human emotions, struggles, and sources of joy down to single, spot-on sentences. She pairs this gifted wordsmithery with a stunning honesty (that some critics call vulnerability). She’s distinct, immediately recognizable, what more can an artist hope to be? She’s a national marvel, and it shouldn’t have taken that above video for her to be so heralded. They even had her write and read a poem for the Canada Games. Sports and poems, you know the country loves you when. it’s because her poetry just cracks your heart open and lets her in.”At First Lonely is Davis’ first published book.“Best-known as a musician and a spoken-word performer, poet Tanya Davis has now taken to the page with At First, Lonely. In this collection, she reflects on life’s many passages: falling in love and out, the search for personal truth, the search for home. Davis’s style is one-of-a-kind: a blend of contemporary phrasing with profound personal expression. But her message is universal; over two million people have watched How to Be Alone, a film adaptation of her poem created by independent filmmaker Andrea Dorfman. Tanya Davis’ poetry challenges the intellect and touches deep places in the heart.” – publisher
Previous year’s winners are: 
Drive By Saviours (M)
by Chris Benjamin in 2010,
Migration Songs (M)
by Anna Quon in 2009.
Drive By Saviours (M)
by Chris Benjamin in 2010,
Migration Songs (M)
by Anna Quon in 2009.
Source: http://www.thereader.ca/2011/12/salty-inks-2011-judge-book-by-its-cover.html
