“Here is a resonating vulnerability—a collection that simultaneously stuns and mystifies with its emotional intimacy and curious nature. It is a crucial meditation on our surroundings, and brings the reader to focus on the details that we take for granted. Each of the poems in Crescendo are cold breaths, deep prayers, and bursts of soulful dialogue. Mekyle Ali Qadir is an excellent new entry into the Canadian poetry scene, and his work here is a brilliant light that promises to illuminate the dark corners of identity, of belonging, and of the questions we have gathered the courage to ask ourselves. This is a fantastic debut from Qadir that will leave readers both emotionally fulfilled, and wanting more.”

– Fareh Malik, author of Streams that Lead Somewhere