• Age: 15 to 18
• Grade: 10 to 12

The Trailer explores the subtle art of balancing life on the edge of a city--indeed, perched precariously, metaphorically on the fringe of society--not exactly following a script for keeping up with the Joneses. The experiences of love and loss while living on that (not exactly) sharp edge build the foundation in this collection. Stylistically, the poems vary as they dig through the detritus daily to reveal the joy, beauty, and humour within the world of thin tin-walled hope and melamine dreams of a mobile home, of a live lived lagging just a little behind.

James Scoles' profile page

James Scoles holds degrees from North Dakota, Arizona State, and Southern Illinois, and he has lived, worked, and travelled in over 90 countries. His writing has appeared in the literary journals Prairie Fire Magazine, CV2, The Malahat Review, en Route Magazine, Descant, and Arc: Canada's National Poetry Magazine and the anthology Coming Attractions 13. His poem "The Trailer" won the 2013 CBC Poetry Prize and his literary non-fiction has won the Personal Journalism and Western Magazine Awards. He now lives in Winnipeg where he teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Winnipeg and helps run a small 120-year-old family farm.