• Age: 13 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12

For Those I Have Loved is a collection of poems by Ontario-based bilingual poet Kyla Heyming (KPH). She dedicates this volume to her recently deceased “Opa”, saying of him that he was “a great man who made me fall in love with stories.”

The collection is also for all those who have lost someone they were close to. Kyla knows that to have the chance to love at all is a profound blessing, even when it means we must ultimately be faced with grief.

Moments of love, loss, and self-discovery, captured at their rawest on the typewriter, resonate with readers from all ages and walks of life, as they speak of universal experiences and truths.

Kyla Heyming's profile page

KPH is a fluently bilingual Canadian writer.Announced on April 29, 2022, Kyla Heyming is Greater Sudbury’s youngest-ever poet laureate. Kyla said she wants to encourage other young people to ‘write and love poetry as much as I did’

For Those I Have Loved is a sublime elegy for the dead. These naked straightforward poems seek to understand the complexities of grief in its many facets. They are unembellished, humble dedications. The poet’s love of those dying or departed is heartbreakingly evident in these poems. Grief and longing tremble in each line of verse. KPH weaves love, sadness, anger, and guilt into an innocent tapestry of remembrance. This is an honest and elegant dedication to the departed; a treasured elegy of verse. - Trisha Cull, Poet of The Death of Small Creatures

For Those I Have Loved is an honest, heartfelt, and insightful book about the power of love and loss. Through the lens of her own life, KPH shares with us her vulnerability and courage as she faces losing someone she deeply loves. Her grief is felt, yet through her own personal experiences, she encourages all of us to continue loving. - Dr. Cheryl Bauman, University Professor & Author, Just Say It: Four Phrases that Will Change Your Life Forever