Riven
Catherine Owen
Winner of the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry
In 2010, Catherine Owen’s 29-year-old spouse died of a drug addiction. A year later, she relocated to an apartment by the Fraser River in Vancouver, B.C. As she moved beyond the initial shock, the river became her focus: a natural, damaged space that both intensifies emotion and symbolizes healing. In a sequence of aubades, or dawn poems, Owen records the practice of walking by or watching the river every morning, a routine that helps her engage in the tough work of mourning. Riven (a word that echoes river and means rift) is an homage to both a man and an ecosystem threatened by the presence of toxins and neglect. Yet, it is also a song to the beauty of nature and memory, concluding in a tribute to Louise Cotnoir’s long poem The Islands with a piece on imagined rivers. While Designated Mourner honors grief, Riven focuses on modes of survival and transformation through looking outward, and beyond.
Author - Catherine Owen.
Narrator - Catherine Owen.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Location:
United States
Description:
Winner of the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry In 2010, Catherine Owen’s 29-year-old spouse died of a drug addiction. A year later, she relocated to an apartment by the Fraser River in Vancouver, B.C. As she moved beyond the initial shock, the river became her focus: a natural, damaged space that both intensifies emotion and symbolizes healing. In a sequence of aubades, or dawn poems, Owen records the practice of walking by or watching the river every morning, a routine that helps her engage in the tough work of mourning. Riven (a word that echoes river and means rift) is an homage to both a man and an ecosystem threatened by the presence of toxins and neglect. Yet, it is also a song to the beauty of nature and memory, concluding in a tribute to Louise Cotnoir’s long poem The Islands with a piece on imagined rivers. While Designated Mourner honors grief, Riven focuses on modes of survival and transformation through looking outward, and beyond. Author - Catherine Owen. Narrator - Catherine Owen. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Language:
English
Chapter 1
Duration:00:00:57
Chapter 2
Duration:00:05:02
Chapter 3
Duration:00:01:15
Chapter 4
Duration:00:01:19
Chapter 5
Duration:00:01:23
Chapter 6
Duration:00:01:05
Chapter 7
Duration:00:01:13
Chapter 8
Duration:00:00:54
Chapter 9
Duration:00:00:55
Chapter 10
Duration:00:01:02
Chapter 11
Duration:00:01:21
Chapter 12
Duration:00:00:06
Chapter 13
Duration:00:01:40
Chapter 14
Duration:00:01:24
Chapter 15
Duration:00:01:09
Chapter 16
Duration:00:01:12
Chapter 17
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Chapter 18
Duration:00:00:52
Chapter 19
Duration:00:01:02
Chapter 20
Duration:00:00:59
Chapter 21
Duration:00:01:16
Chapter 22
Duration:00:01:17
Chapter 23
Duration:00:01:11
Chapter 24
Duration:00:00:55
Chapter 25
Duration:00:01:13
Chapter 26
Duration:00:01:10
Chapter 27
Duration:00:01:00
Chapter 28
Duration:00:01:03
Chapter 29
Duration:00:01:05
Chapter 30
Duration:00:01:16
Chapter 31
Duration:00:01:21
Chapter 32
Duration:00:01:17
Chapter 33
Duration:00:01:03
Chapter 34
Duration:00:01:05
Chapter 35
Duration:00:01:18
Chapter 36
Duration:00:01:20
Chapter 37
Duration:00:01:05
Chapter 38
Duration:00:01:09
Chapter 39
Duration:00:01:10
Chapter 40
Duration:00:01:15
Chapter 41
Duration:00:00:54
Chapter 42
Duration:00:01:03
Chapter 43
Duration:00:01:02
Chapter 44
Duration:00:01:13
Chapter 45
Duration:00:01:13
Chapter 46
Duration:00:01:35
Chapter 47
Duration:00:03:46
Chapter 48
Duration:00:00:49
Chapter 49
Duration:00:01:01
Chapter 50
Duration:00:01:23
Chapter 51
Duration:00:01:08
Chapter 52
Duration:00:01:58
Chapter 53
Duration:00:01:00
Chapter 54
Duration:00:01:13
Chapter 55
Duration:00:01:00
Chapter 56
Duration:00:07:30
Chapter 57
Duration:00:00:35
Chapter 58
Duration:00:00:26
Chapter 59
Duration:00:01:06