Narwani, Ulrike
Ulrike (Conradi) Narwani, of Baltic-German heritage, grew up in Edmonton. She completed a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto in 1977. Her husband’s work shifted the family to the United States, England, India and Thailand, with a final move in 2003 to Sidney, B.C.—moves that provided unexpected and unique opportunities to fulfill their passion for flying. She and her husband have co-written the memoir Above the Beaten Path, detailing their adventures flying a single-engine Cessna 182 into remote corners, virtually around the world. Now, nurtured by a vibrant community of local poets, she finds that poetry has become a major part of her life. Her work has appeared in Island Writer, CV2, two chapbooks, In That Wild Place and Vanishing into the Leaves (edited by Patrick Lane) and the anthology Poems from Planet Earth (edited by Yvonne Blomer and Cynthia Woodman Kerkham). Her poetry placed first in two contests: Island Writer (2011) and FreeFall (2012); was shortlisted in Arc (2009); and received honourable mention in Vallum (2013). She and her nephew, Jens Gerbitz, have published a photo/poetry book, All that You Can’t Bear to Lose. Her haiku have appeared in Haiku Canada Members’ Anthology (2015, 2016). Collecting Silence is her debut volume of poetry. She makes her home in North Saanich, B.C.
