Hello, my name is Tina Biello and I have just released a collection of poetry and prose, The Weight of Survival (Dagger Editions). I’ll be launching my book at Book Warehouse Main Street on March 13, and I’d like to invite my fellow UBC alumni as well as faculty and staff. You can find details about my book and the launch below.

In The Weight of Survival, I retrace my family’s journey from post-war Italy to a small logging town near Cowichan Lake, exploring themes of identity, queerness, and belonging.

In the heart of a small logging town near Lake Cowichan stands an old elementary school, a place that became the backdrop of my childhood. As a child of immigrants from post-war Italy, I found myself navigating the halls of this institution amidst a sea of predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon families, grappling with the challenge of not speaking English.

My family was among the four who had emigrated from southern Italy to this small, forested community. Alongside us were families from India, sharing in the bond of being perceived as the ‘other’ in our new home. What unfolds when your very essence – your voice, your cuisine, your sense of belonging – differs from the majority? How does one come to terms with their queer identity in a landscape devoid of language or acceptance?

These are the questions that I try to explore in The Weight of Survival, a poetry and prose memoir in which I delve into the intricacies of my upbringing, shaped by the convergence of two disparate communities. It’s a journey of blending identities, of reconciling the old with the new, and ultimately, of leaving behind fragments of myself in pursuit of belonging.

For more information about my book, The Weight of Survival, visit https://caitlinpress.com/Books/T/The-Weight-of-Survival.

Book Launch:

Date: March 13th

Time: Doors open at 6:30 pm, event begins at 7 pm

Location: Book Warehouse Main St. (4118 Main St. Vancouver)

Admission: Free and open to all

Link to full event description: https://blackbondbooks.com/events/33965