The Wonder Wander

In The Wonder Wander, Diane Driedger explores her identity as a Mennonite girl, and later as a disabled activist woman. Interspersed throughout the collection are short rhyming poems that respond to and subvert childhood rhymes to unpack words that the speaker explores. In the first section, " Girl," Driedger is confronted with different cultures while coming of age. From travelling to see relatives in Kansas, to living in Winnipeg, to a year of school in Berkeley, California and then travelling to Europe, the poet observes and questions while she wanders. In " Riffing," the second part of the book, Driedger presents a series of poems about her fibromyalgia diagnosis as an adult and the struggles and barriers when living with an invisible disability. The poems riff on words that are part of the disability cultural experience. Through short rhyming poems, these poems question and challenge the meanings of societal views on disability.