An ancient Chinese Proverb suggests that, “Women are made of water.” The emotional content of their tears are laden with salt like the sea, pouring forth in happiness and sorrow in the female experience of living. In The Language of Water, Genine Hanns explores women’s relationships with self, others and the world through myth, love, language, poetry and its forms, song and dance, freedom and captivity, creatures of the sea, land and sky, parents, marriage, issues of childbirth, divorce, isolation, celebration, and aging. The poet dips her pen in the deep waters of female creativity and gives voice to a siren’s aria and mermaid’s lament.

Genine Hanns was born in Vancouver BC and grew up on Vancouver Island with a great love and appreciation for nature and the beauty of the west coast. An accomplished acrylic artist, she paints landscapes, animals, butterflies and birds. A prolific writer in all genres, She has also written numerous short stories, poems and articles over the years. A large number of magazines and websites in Canada, America, and the United Kingdom have featured her work, amongst them, Canadian Author & Bookman, Cross Canada Writer’s Quarterly, Dandelion, Descant, Ice River, Late Knocking, Northern Light and ROCKSALT, the Anthology of Contemporary BC Poetry by Mother Tongue Publishing. Her first book of poetry, Cross-Eyed Virgin on a Tightrope, was recently published by Desert Phoenix Press of ICN Publishing in Victoria. The Language of Water is her second book of poetry.

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