Winner of the 1999 Associated Writing Programs' Award Series in PoetrySet against a fantastic backdrop of religious imagery, myth and dreams, science fiction, and the stark realities of a northern factory town, Voisine's poems carefully detail the life of a common hero and his family. A young girl comes of age in this town, inventing her own sign language, creating worlds and realities, all the while revealing the intense love she has for a father who has given his life to his family's survival.