Cassandra Blanchard
Cassandra Blanchard was born in Whitehorse, YK, but called Vancouver home for many years. She holds a BA from the University of British Columbia with a major in gender, race, sexuality and social justice. Her poetry has been published in a handful of literary journals. Fresh Pack of Smokes is her first book of poetry. She lives in Duncan, BC.
Books (1)
Synopsis:
“This night in Oppenheimer Park Dan asked me to shit-kick this chick in the face as she owed money and I said no because I didn’t know who she was and I wasn’t about to play with fire so he sat on the bench then stood up and did a flying kick twice to her chin and she convulsed and passed out he said he didn’t want to spill blood because she had HIV…”—“Tales”
Dissecting herself and the life she once knew living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside as a bonafide drug addict, Blanchard writes plainly about violence, drug use and sex work in Fresh Pack of Smokes, offering insight into an often overlooked or misunderstood world.
Reviews
“Reading Cassandra Blanchard’s debut poetry collection Fresh Pack of Smokes feels like, to borrow a phrase from her work, someone “poured a bucket of blood” on your head. Such visceral images flood the pages of Blanchard’s autobiographical stories, pulling readers in with humanizing force.” - Emma Cooper, The Tyee
Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2019-2020 resource list as being useful for grade 12 students for the following subjects: English Language Arts, Social Justice.
Contains foul and sexual language, graphic content, violence, interpersonal abuse, and drug use, which may be disturbing to some readers.
Additional Information
96 pages | 5.50" x 8.00"
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