The death of George Floyd inspired this powerful poem by Olive Senior

B for Breathe is a poem by Olive Senior. It is part of Transmission, CBC Books' original writing series reflecting on life during COVID-19. Read more works from Transmission here. 

Olive Senior has been sharing poems on Twitter throughout the pandemic in a series called Pandemic Poetry. You can check those out at @olivesenior. B for Breathe was first published as part of Pandemic Poems.

B for Breathe

About Olive Senior

Olive Senior is the author of 18 books of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and children's literature. She is a winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and her collection Over the Roofs of the World was shortlisted for the 2005 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry. In 2019, Senior delivered the prestigious Margaret Laurence Lecture. Her latest book is the children's picture book Boonoonoonous Hair, which was illustrated by Laura James.

Ideas53:59Olive Senior delivers prestigious 2019 Margaret Laurence Lecture: A Writer's Life

Olive Senior was born in Jamaica in 1941, the seventh of 10 children. She went on to become one of Canada’s most acclaimed writers. Hear excerpts from her 2019 Margaret Laurence Lecture, readings from her work and a conversation with IDEAS producer Mary Lynk. *Originally broadcast on October 9, 2019. 53:59

About Transmission

Transmission is a new series of original creative works, commissioned by CBC Books, that reflects on time, place, identity, community and purpose in an era of COVID-19. 

Transmission is part of the Art Uncontained initiative from CBC Arts. Art Uncontained offers inspiration for audiences and support to the Canadian artistic community in these unprecedented times.