five christmas ideas #4

Year four of my CanPo promotion project has arrived, Canada (you can read the last three years' entries here, here, and here), but I haven't arrived with it. I'm still in Zambia, where I've been living, or preparing to live, for half of 2012. Because of this, my poetry consumption rate has dipped a bit, and my access to books for rereading/cost-per-poem-breakdowning has dropped precipitously.

This year's list, then, is extremely biased, poorly researched, relatively uninformative, and based on my vague rememberances of how a poem or two or three reached out and grabbed me during the course of my 2012 reading. In other words, it will be more or less the same as all the other lists. Enjoy!


I see my love more clearly from a distance by Nora Gould, Brick Books, 2012

Who's Nora Gould? She's a Canadian poet. This is her first book. You can learn more about her here. Also, I interviewed Nora earlier this year, and you can read that here.

A "Canadian Poet", eh? That's not good enough anymore. Let's do this up "Canada Reads: Turf Wars" style! Oh, ok. She's from Alberta. Goooo Alberta!

Where is your copy of this book currently located? It's packed into a liquor store box in a storage locker in East Vancouver.

What do you remember about reading the book? I remember how engaged I was, and how curious. How pulled into the foreign (to me) world that the author was creating. I remember its heart-ache and its vast landscape, and the ways they intersected. I remember at the end putting the book down and sitting there for quite a while not saying or doing anything, just taking the whole thing in.

Does one of the poems stick out in your mind? Preferably one that's been posted online... There are many that stay with me, and they built on one another. "Thank You for Seed Catalogue" is right up there, and holds up well in isolation.

Earworm by Nick Thran, Nightwood Editions, 2011

Who's Nick Thran? A Canadian poet. This is his second book. You can learn more about him here.

A "Canadian Poet", eh? That's not good enough anymore. Let's do this up "Canada Reads: Turf Wars" style! Ok, well, it seems he's lived out West, and in the Maritimes, and in Toronto, as well as other places *gasp* outside Canada. But he won the Trillium award this year, so I think that means that Ontario has officially locked him down. Goooo, Ontario!

Where is your copy of this book currently located? It's packed into a liquor store box in a storage locker in East Vancouver.

What do you remember about reading the book? Reading this book was like riding a skateboard in a car park. No, it was like iPhone-bumping with Michelle Obama. No it was like being a lazer shot out of the mouth of a robotic shark.

Ok, only one of those was actually said about Earworm, though I wouldn't be surprised if the others where considered at some point. For me, reading Earworm felt like reading a good book of poetry. I remember thinking that lost amid all the discussion of the "coolness" of this book's subject matter (for, and against, and somehow involving me) was the fact that Earworm is filled with good poems. The best of them hit the intellectual/emotional sweet spot dead on, so who really cares if they are about Power Rangers or snow falling in an empty woodlot?

If you don't like skateboards or Power Rangers, don't let that stop you from checking out this book. And if you like both them and poetry books, you are the coolest twelve year old ever...

Does one of the poems stick out in your mind? Preferably one that's been posted online... How about two? "Earworm" and "756".

All Souls' by Rhea Tregebov, Signal Editions, 2012

Who's Rhea Tregebov? A Canadian poet. This is her sixth book of poetry. You can learn more here.

A "Canadian Poet", eh? That's not good enough anymore. Let's do this up "Canada Reads: Turf Wars" style! She was born in Saskatoon, raised in Manitoba, then lived in Toronto and now in Vancouver... so let's say... Manitoba? Goooo, Manitoba!

Where is your copy of this book currently located? It's here in Zambia! I'm holding it right now!

What do you remember about reading the book? So much! And only in part because I didn't read it 6+ months ago. I remember the strength of the opening suite of poems on environmental collapse and how poignantly it mirrored the suite of poems on the slow death of a father. I remember her skillful use of language, including her ability to say things plainly when needed.

Does one of the poems stick out in your mind? Preferably one that's been posted online... A favourite of mine was "Labastide-Esparbairenque, France".

The Weight of Dew by Daniela Elza, Mother Tongue Publishing, 2012

Who's Daniela Elza? A Canadian poet. This is her first book. You can read more about her here. Also, I interviewed Daniela earlier this year, and you can read that interview here and here.

A "Canadian Poet", eh? That's not good enough anymore. Let's do this up "Canada Reads: Turf Wars" style! She's from Bulgaria via Nigeria. But she's only ever called BC home in Canada, I believe, so we get to claim her. Gooooo, BC!

Where is your copy of this book currently located? It's packed into a liquor store box in a storage locker in East Vancouver.

What do you remember about reading the book? Feeling like I was in dialogue with someone far wiser than myself, but no less welcoming because of it. A poet, yes, but also a philosopher, a traveler, and a parent. I remember at first stumbling over all the spaces and silences in the book, then coming to miss them greatly once I'd moved on to other books.

Does one of the poems stick out in your mind? Preferably one that's been posted online... "Past Hope" is pretty swell.

The Makings of You by Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Peepal Tree Press, 2010

Who's Nii Ayikwei Parkes? A Ghanaian poet. This is his first poetry book. You can read more about him here. You can also read a string of interviewsI did with him here.

A "Ghanaian Poet", eh? That's not good enough anymo... wait, what? Oh yeah. I cheated. I've been in Africa for almost a third of the year, so the least I can do is devote a fifth of this list to African books. But don't worry, Nii lives in the UK, so he's still got that Commonwealth thing going for him. Goooo, British Empire?

Where is your copy of this book currently located? It's packed into a liquor store box in a storage locker in East Vancouver. I hope they are all getting along in there.

What do you remember about reading the book? I remember how impressed I was by the way Nii blends global history with his personal history, which also pulled in Ghanaian history, allowing his "African" book to resonate with foreign readers. I also remember thinking what a shame it was that almost no one in my home country would ever read it because of... well... competitions (and "best of" lists like this one) that obsess on CanCon.

Oh, and he's got some pretty killer love poems in there, too.

Does one of the poems stick out in your mind? Preferably one that's been posted online... "Ayitey, 1973" is a great place to start.

That's all for 2012. See you in 2013, when I'll once again be living in the same city as my bookshelves!