The Hummingbird Father - a conversation with Pascale Petit

Pascale Petit will read from her lyrical and challenging debut novel, My Hummingbird Father, followed by conversation and questions.
About this Event

Pascale Petit was born in Paris and lives in Cornwall, she is of French, Welsh, and Indian heritage. Her debut novel, My Hummingbird Father, was published by Salt in 2024. She has published eight poetry collections, four of which were shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. Her seventh, Mama Amazonica (Bloodaxe, 2017), won the RSL Ondaatje Prize and the inaugural Laurel Prize and was the Poetry Book Society Choice. Her eighth, Tiger Girl (Bloodaxe, 2020), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection, and for Wales Book of the Year. Her ninth collection, Beast, published by Bloodaxe in April 2025, won a Society of Authors Arthur Welton Award while in progress.

Salt page for My Hummingbird Father: https://www.saltpublishing.com/products/my-hummingbird-father-9781784633110

‘It's unsurprisingly poetic, full of lyrical, luscious descriptions of the rainforest and shot through with magic realism. I loved it.’ —Daily Mail

‘The poet’s novel of art and abuse vividly evokes one woman’s quest to uncover long-lost memories’ —The Guardian

When artist Dominique receives a letter from her dying father, a reckoning with repressed memories and a pull for romantic and familial love sends shock waves through her life, as she journeys to Paris to face the places and events of her early years.

Balanced with visits to the Venezuelan Amazon, where Dominique explores a spiritual and loving longing (meeting a young guide, Juan), a raw and tender unfolding of this love story is a parallel to the uncovering of the shocking truth of Dominique’s birth, and her parents’ relationship.

Pascale Petit’s My Hummingbird Father is a beautifully lyrical debut novel in dialogue with Pascale’s Ondaatje and Laurel Prize-winning poetry collection, Mama Amazonica.

My Hummingbird Father shatters and heals, distils redemption out of a history of pain and abuse, and is one of the most affecting books you will read this year. Petit’s jewelled sentences, rich in imagery and inspiration from the natural world, weave tiny, beautiful lessons from sparrows, captive jaguars and broken humans together into a stunning, unforgettable tapestry.’ —Nilanjana Roy