The Wonder Wander by Diane Driedger

Framed with poems playing with language, sound, and rhyme, The Wonder Wander by Diane Driedger lives up to its title: a whimsical trip through different cities and continents; Driedger growing up and learning the different nuances and injustices of the world. Driedger revisits scenes throughout her childhood, casting a new lens onto the moments, now better able to parse the world as an adult. These poems are rich with playful imagery and poignant memories.

I think the best part about this collection of poems is the sure-footed child that Driedger depicts herself as. Despite the fact that the poems illustrate a nomadic childhood, and often stumble into the misunderstandings of children about geography, there’s also a wonderful tenderness in the misunderstandings:

it’s important    I think
to know where you come from
we return to writing
our biographies of Lincoln
I look at the US penny
in my pocket
Lincoln’s portrait
a good front cover for my project
I paste it on red maple leaf paper
satisfied
I know where I come from ("In History Class")

The second part of the collection is a firm step into the world of adulthood – and the world in which Driedger has a growing understanding of disability and its role in her life. These poems still retain the playful joy of the first section of the collection, but take on a more serious tone, even when playing with words and rhyme. The stakes are higher now, Driedger tells us, though the person is the same.

The stakes are higher now, Driedger tells us, though the person is the same.

The Wonder Wander has sat with me for a few weeks now, since I first finished it, and still, I keep finding new pieces in each poem as I return to them. It’s a short collection but impactful.

The poem “Sick” encompasses the collection as a whole: poking fun and still carrying a burden. I hope that this will draw you in enough to read the rest of the collection, because it’s worth your time.

trick
nick
stick
pick
kick

Diane Driedger is a poet, writer and educator. She has published 12 books including two poetry collections and Still Living the Edges: A Disabled Women’s Reader (Inanna Publications, 2021). She has been involved in the disability rights movement in Canada and internationally for many years. She teaches in the Interdisciplinary Master’s Programme in Disability Studies at the University of Manitoba. Diane holds a PhD in Education.

Publisher: Caitlin Press (July 3, 2026)
Paperback: 5.5″ x 8″ | 84 pages
ISBN: 9781773861906

Alison Manley

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Alison Manley has ricocheted between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for most of her life. Now in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she is the Cataloguing and Metadata Librarian at Saint Mary's University. Her past life includes a long stint as a hospital librarian on the banks of the mighty Miramichi River. She has an honours BA in political science and English from St. Francis Xavier University, and a Master of Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University. While she's adamant that her love of reading has nothing to do with her work, her ability to consume large amounts of information very quickly sure is helpful. She is often identified by her very red lipstick, and lives with her partner Brett and cat, Toasted Marshmallow.