The Vanishing Act (& The Miracle After) is an existential meditation on grief—the kind of grief which pins you down and minimizes you. The first half of the collection, The Vanishing Act, captures the ruminations of a mind which feels trapped physically and spiritually. The imagery in this section blends magic and violence as the speaker confronts systemic issues as a middle-class woman, a person of colour, and a survivor of abuse. The second section, (& The Miracle After), offers a fresh perspective on recovery. As the speaker revisits images of bodily harm, objects previously used for violence are brought back to a state of benign normalcy. With the arrival of spring, the speaker contemplates renewal and the paradoxical nature of taking agency of her life, while knowing the act of survival is made possible only because of miraculous intervention.

Avleen K. Mokha, also known as Mirabel, is an award-winning poet based in Montreal. Mirabel’s poetry chapbook Dream Fragments (Cactus Press 2020) received critical acclaim from The League of Canadian Poets and PRISM International. Mirabel has performed her work across Canada, facilitated creative writing workshops, and curated a range of literary events.

Mirabel's profile page

A sensitive intersectional feminist work of value, not to be missed.

Montreal Review of Books