{"product_id":"how-poetry-saved-my-life-a-hustlers-memoir-9781551525006","title":"How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler's Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCity of Vancouver Book Award winner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs raw and fiery as its author, \u003ci\u003eHow Poetry Saved My Life\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful account of survival and the transformative power of literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmber Dawn's acclaimed first novel \u003ci\u003eSub Rosa\u003c\/i\u003e, a darkly intoxicating fantasy about a group of magical prostitutes who band together to fend off bad johns in a fantastical underworld, won a Lambda Literary Award in 2011. While the plot of the book was wildly imaginative, it was also based on the author's own experience as a sex worker in the 1990s and early 2000s, and on her coming out as lesbian.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow Poetry Saved My Life\u003c\/i\u003e, Amber Dawn's sophomore book, reveals an even more poignant and personal landscape--the terrain of sex work, queer identity, and survivor pride. This memoir, told in prose and poetry, offers a frank, multifaceted portrait of the author's experiences hustling the streets of Vancouver, and the how those years took away her self-esteem and nearly destroyed her; at the crux of this autobiographical narrative is the tender celebration of poetry and literature, that--as the title suggests--acted as a lifeline during her most pivotal moments.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmber Dawn\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eSub Rosa\u003c\/i\u003e, editor of \u003ci\u003eFist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire\u003c\/i\u003e (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009), and co-editor of \u003ci\u003eWith a Rough Tongue: Femmes Write Porn\u003c\/i\u003e (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005). She won the Writers' Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilivie Prize for emerging LGBT writers in 2012. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmber Dawn: Amber Dawn is a writer, filmmaker, and performance artist. She is the author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning novel \u003ci\u003eSub Rosa\u003c\/i\u003e, editor of \u003ci\u003eFist of the Spider Woman\u003c\/i\u003e, and co-editor of \u003ci\u003eWith a Rough Tongue\u003c\/i\u003e. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. She is also winner of the Dayne Ogilvie Prize from the Writers' Trust of Canada. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Arsenal Pulp Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50356202995986,"sku":"9781551525006","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_fff64c60-8864-449d-992c-4c66ba260a41.jpg?v=1728307506","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/how-poetry-saved-my-life-a-hustlers-memoir-9781551525006","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}