A guest post by Rona Altrows
It’s an exciting moment when a contributor to one of our theme-based anthologies comes out with her first book. That is what has just happened with Shy contributor, Eve Krakow.
In Shy, the award-winning anthology of essays and poetry edited by Naomi K. Lewis and Rona Altrows, 39 writers recall, lament, and celebrate their own experiences of shyness. They define “shy” in a million shifting ways and find that, while shyness may be painful and raw, it may also bring empathy, sensitivity, humour, a keen appreciation of subtlety.
“Young Expressions*,” a personal essay by Eve Krakow, appears in Shy. In the essay, Krakow revisits her participation as a shy teen in a youth theatre group twenty years earlier and reflects on how, at the time of writing, she has and has not changed. “Different from twenty years ago to be sure: engaging with people, with life, more of a participant. But still…there are moments. Moments when I miss a social cue. Moments when the wall goes up again. And those moments are not so few and far between.”
Krakow recently released her first book, Voice Lessons, a memoir in essays, including “Young Expressions.” It was listed in CBC’s 54 works of nonfiction to check out this fall.
When Shy first came out editors Lewis and Altrows expressed these hopes: “that our fellow shyniks will find a familiar strain, that the never-shy will understand their quieter neighbours a little better, and that readers will find these pieces as striking, funny, and surprising as we do.”
Clearly, Shy remains as relevant as ever today. All the best to Eve Krakow and our other wonderful contributing writers.
The book is available for order from our website or through your favourite independent bookstore. Its striking cover uses artwork by Carroll Taylor Lindoe, called “Red Dog, 2002.”
*Retitled “The Girl in the Khaki Miniskirt” in Voice Lessons.
