Growing into womanhood is difficult within the confines of an insular Mennonite colony. At 17, Maria Giesbrecht left everything she had ever known, fleeing her family and community with only $200 in her pocket. By making that leap, she was able to unravel a patriarchal and oppressive religious system, claiming a freedom rooted in her own choices and identity.

Born in Durango, Mexico, Giesbrecht is an award-winning poet now living near Guelph, Ont. It’s been less than a decade since she walked away from her conservative Mennonite roots, but she has already carved out a comfortable niche in the Canadian literary community.

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Her poems have appeared in the Literary Review of Canada, Narrative and Grain, and she won the 2025 Lesley........

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