The Average Height of Flight

The poems in AVERAGE HEIGHT OF FLIGHT are founded in the landscape of coastal BC, built on the losses within the narrator's life in counterpoint to her walks in the natural world. In forests with her dog, along watersheds and hill climbs, Beth Kope goes off trail to find inspiration and time for meditation. She observes as the landscapes change with storms blowing through, absorbs the names of plants, finds sustained comfort whatever the season: crisp, clear days, rain is fine, or thesnow that reveals the other creatures that share her routes. Kope invites the reader to join her on these walks and meditations on grief. The metre of feet and heartbeat creates a cadence of solace, but lovingly follows the nose of a dog.

Beth Kope Beth Kope has been published in a handful of chapbooks, literary magazines and the Mocambo Nights anthology. She has contributed non-fiction and book reviews for BC magazines. Her first book, Falling Season, was published by Leaf Press in fall 2010. Praise for her previous work: "These poems of honest dismay and almost unbearable sadness will surely resonate..." - BC Bookworld "An exquisite sense of craft and consciousness...a quietly stunning book." - Betsy Warland