Thimbles Virtual Book Tour Official Page!

“Shields has an ear for the ocean, the fugitive word, insect symphonies and the luscious unsaid. Thimbles is a beautiful blaze of a book, a paean to generations of gently brave women, but, most of all, an unforgettable tribute to the gospel of Nonna.” Kyo Maclear, author of ‘Birds, Art, Life: A Year of Observation’

“In this astonishing, gut-wrenching, and beautiful collection of poems about her Nonna, Vanessa Shields draws on the language of the mundane to explore the sacred geography of the aging female body, the dignity of traditional “woman’s work,” the strength and wisdom of a matriarch, the agony of loss, and the importance of family.” Irene Moore Davis, author of ‘Our Own Two Hands: A History of Black Lives in Windsor’

“In thimbles, Vanessa Shields treats the seamstress finger-preservers as symbols–markers–of passage; of needle and thread through fabric, yes, but also of a beloved ancestor, passing from Italy to Canada, and, then, eventually, inevitably, passing on. But Shields is not merely eulogizing, nor is she simplistically sentimental.  Instead, the poet is herself threading memories and needling contradictions. She spells out the true meanings of the Italian word nostalgia: Longing and homesickness. Yes, the Old Country is unforgettably loveable and lovely; but Love sports seven-league boots. So, Nonna survives and prospers by sewing “between the cooking and the wine and the self-preservation,” and she teaches the poet that stitching is also the lineation of a poem, whether scarf-skinny, or flour-sack-fat, or as wispy and as tough as silk: “If God didn’t think it was special, he would have put your vagina on your neck.” The bottom line? thimbles reminds us that we are all palimpsests of our innumerable forebears, and what connects our endlessly reflected mirror selves is Love.” George Elliott Clarke, 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) & 7th Parliamentary (Canadian) Poet Laureate (2016-17)

“Thimbles takes us on a journey – what it means to love and lose family and culture, intensely stitched together by a master seamstress from the old country. Through the lens of immigration – two worlds, the old country and the new, health and illness, we are poignantly reminded of the bond between Nonna and nipotina, grandmother and granddaughter. The love is tangible here, one can feel it just in picking up the book.” Tina Biello, poet and playwright

“A wonderful weaving of prose, poetry and lists to present a life of love, family and the experiences of her grandmother’s immigration. I feel so close to Nonna, can almost smell her cooking, hear her wiseness and feel that regret we have for never feeling like we can know enough about our roots. Vanessa captures grief, love and family in each piece, while also showing us all the ways poetry can exist in form and feeling. Grief is never just one thing, and this collection embraces it all in a way that is so freeing to experience as a reader.” Charlie Petch, recipient of the Golden Beret Lifetime Achievement Award in Spoken Word

“There are no stories until I ask…” This work is a tribute to family, and an examination of the ties – literal and figurative – that bind us together. It is a love letter to a great family-maker and shaper – a powerful, beautiful, unforgettable Italian Nonna who brings tradition, strength, love, awe, wonder, and vivacity from the mountains of Italy to a small home in Canada. I was immersed in the world Vanessa creates, shapes, captures and presents. Through these poems, she turns her raw storytelling power to the act of sculpting an eternal monument to her grandmother. Each poem shapes the lines… each word forms the details of the body, the clothing… each story fills in the nooks and crannies of the face, the hands, the heart. The story is universal and uniting. There are deep-dives into Nonna’s past, her character, presented beside simple, true reflections of what it’s like to be with our family-makers navigating dementia. The writing is raw, vivid, striking. She at once captures the impossibility of illness and the fear of ringing phones when we’re poised for devastating news. There are some breathtaking works in the collection, alongside some truly beautiful, heart-wrenching words. I read an earlier draft months ago, and the words have stayed with me since then… as though Nonna has, through Vanessa, stitched her stories into my own heart and soul. Congratulations, dear friend – this book is perfect. Thank you, as always, for the words. Christopher Lawrence Menard, playwrite

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 bacon d’amor; only the good lasts; and domain e un alter 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!
Deb Okun Hill, author of ‘Tarnished Trophies’