Relative to Wind

Phoebe Wang is a first-generation Chinese-Canadian who lives and sails in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of the poetry collections Admission Requirements (M&S, 2017), shortlisted for the Gerald Lambert Memorial Award, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and the Trillium Book Award, and Waking Occupations (M&S, 2022), and her fiction and nonfiction have been widely published. She is an adjunct professor and mentor in the University of Toronto Creative Writing MA program.

"A thoughtful, illuminating look at life away from land."—Kirkus"Although it takes place mostly on the water, Phoebe Wang’s absorbing Relative to Wind covers a lot of ground. In formally inventive chapters, Wang touches upon the history of sailing, the legacies of colonization and discrimination, the emergence of North American yacht clubs, and the evolution of Toronto’s waterfront. She does so with poetic prose."—The Literary Review of Canada"This is a unique and fascinating memoir, and I’m glad I read it. You should read it too, and be open to the lessons of sailing―and life."―The Miramichi Reader"I went into Relative to Wind knowing little about sailing. I emerge from the book knowing a little bit more than I did, but a lot more about an openness and verve with which to approach life."—The Fiddlehead"[Wang] steers the reader into waters that may seem becalmed and finds within them a propulsive breath... The essays in Relative to Wind contain within them an eclectic and shifting narrative of finding ways to belong."—The Winnipeg Free Press“A riveting book about our parallel lives, the side passions that steer our hearts and right our balance. I am not a good sailor, have honestly rarely sailed, but I can say without hesitation that you will not find a book that better captures the sport—or the vagaries of wind, collaboration and creative practice. Phoebe Wang’s expansive prose is wise and guiding, and I was very happy to have travelled with her.”—Kyo Maclear, author of Unearthing"Wang's book demystifies sailing and the process of learning to sail in a fresh and inviting way. Her story will encourage anyone inclined to step on a boat without experience, and her perspective paves the way for much-needed diversity and accessibility in the sport. Her love for this new nautical world reminds all sailors why we yearn again and again for the wind to fill our sails."—Captain Liz Clark, author of Swell“For readers like me who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of sailboat culture and its boat speak, poet Phoebe Wang offers a headlong introduction into the world of winches and jib sheets. Relative to Wind is an obsession turned lyrical meets technical that sails into the gust with no looking back.”—Amy Fung, author of Before I Was a Critic I Was a Human Being