Thursday, January 21, 2016
New Land
Do the bones haunt you?
The starved sheep abandoned
in the crumbling mortar walls
left by fleeing predecessors.
November kills everything.
Is there beauty in this death?
Cobalt skies setting foliage afire
fleecy wisps of cloud
arctic birds escaping
southward to your Yankee ancestry
chasing Acadian ghosts.
Monday, November 30, 2015
subsistence
monosyllabic man with red stick in hand
drawing on the rocks, impressions of his land
animals dancing or rearing or rough
since when is subsistence enough?
plastic pearls and gingham swirls billowing from her hips
rouge paint round yellowed teeth, beckons from her lips
two-legged dance or ritual for love
since when is subsistence enough?
sweat-soaked labourers beneath electric earth
asking 'brothers, how much are our bodies worth?!'
bread winners dying or trying to be tough
since when is subsistence enough?
blogging woman with her fingers afire
ranting her wit through the undersea wire
suits meeting re distribution of stuff
since when is subsistence enough
drawing on the rocks, impressions of his land
animals dancing or rearing or rough
since when is subsistence enough?
plastic pearls and gingham swirls billowing from her hips
rouge paint round yellowed teeth, beckons from her lips
two-legged dance or ritual for love
since when is subsistence enough?
sweat-soaked labourers beneath electric earth
asking 'brothers, how much are our bodies worth?!'
bread winners dying or trying to be tough
since when is subsistence enough?
blogging woman with her fingers afire
ranting her wit through the undersea wire
suits meeting re distribution of stuff
since when is subsistence enough
Friday, January 10, 2014
Best Books I Read in 2013
I read mostly nonfiction this year, partly because I was researching a
book. So my best-of list is a little shorter than usual, but as you'll
see some of the nonfiction was really really good:
Cornwallis: The Violent Birth of Halifax by Jon Tattrie -
Jon's a friend
of mine and I was a captive audience in a sense, but I was surprised by
the details of this apparent baffoon who founded my city, and the
bizarre, sadistic tactics he used to subdue the French and Mi'kmaq.
 |
| Click here for more. |
Conversations With a Dead Man by Mark Abley -
This is sort of a
biography of Duncan Campbell Scott, who led the Indian Residential
School system thru its period of greatest expansion.
But it's also a
series of imagined conversations between the author and the subject's
ghost.
Abley's a great writer and writes a lot about language and
culture, so the book had a lot of great insights and solid storytelling
throughout. I was fascinated.
 |
| Click here for more. |
Everything is So Political edited by Sandra McIntyre -
This is a collection of short fiction with
political themes, which happens to have one of my stories.
But I was
genuinely impressed with these stories and how well they preached
without preaching. I also loved the international flavour - stories of strife and struggle from around the world.
 |
| Click here for more. |
Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan -
I picked this up at Value
Village for a buck. I knew it'd been a big hit and had an entire chapter in PowerPoint, so I figured why not give
it a shot? One of my top 2 reads of the year. It's all
about musicians. Each chapter is really a short story but the people are
all connected. It jumps around in time and relationships and you
eventually get several life stories. Really well written, fun and
tragic.
 |
| Click here for more. |
The Hermit of Africville by Jon Tattrie -
I liked this one even better
than the Cornwallis one. It's the true, and crazy story of Eddie
Carvery, who has maintained an onsite, tent-in protest against the
destruction of Africville for more than forty years. They call him
"Crazy Eddie" for a reason, but as crazy as he may be, the things that
happened to him were crazier.(Did I just say "crazy" several times?)
 |
| Click here for more. |
Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang by Mordecai Richler -
I read this to my 4-yr-old aloud, in one sitting, and he was riveted, and also cracking up constantly. I tried to read Richler when I was in high school and couldn't get into him - might have been over my head then. Should have read this one I guess, more at my level.
 |
| Click here for more. |
My other top-2 favourite read of the year, Song for Night by Chris Abani is an amazing short novel. I bought
it for $2 from a library discard bin in Toronto and it's one of the
most beautiful haunting books I've read. It's the first-person narrative
of a voiceless child soldier doing evil deeds masterfully told, with a
twist. I still think about it five months after reading it. Can't recommend it enough.
 |
| Click here for more. |
What Lies Across the Water by Stephen Kimber -
The story of the Cuban
Five, Cuban spies in Florida operating on practically nil budget until they got
busted and put away forever, almost. The response is laughable (or would be if it weren't causing so much harm) given how
little they were capable of and what they actually did, which was
prevent a few bombs being set off in Havana by Cuban-American radicals. Oh and there was that incident where a plane got shot down - many sides to that.
Fascinating story, top-notch research by Kimber.
 |
| Click here for more. |
Labels: 2013, best of, books, canlit, Fiction, non-fiction
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Meribah
Monday, November 11, 2013
Concepcion's Song
I
remember
that
night like fire
His
hands on my body divine
Like
we were young
Tequila
fueled
Rebel
look all over his eyes
The
kids asleep
Dreadful
bliss
Gave
me yet another child
Clinic
seeking
No
one could help
American
money run dry
I
cursed the Pope
Cursed
my husband
Ronald
Reagan no friend of mine
Now
they’ve left me
to
live on streets
Killing
time before they die
I’m
alone here
Useless
and old
Nothing
left but wasted time
They
took our farm
Built
a fact-tree
Building
guns so my sons can die
What
a fixed game
against
the poor
Took
their hate and made it divine
They
build their walls
We
throw our rocks
Their
bullets fly back at our side
We
make the news
It’s
all violence
We
are the ones who did the crime
Full
of dynamite
All
stuck inside
Ronald
Reagan no friend of mine
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Zen Anxiety
Brown-robed monk paces
haunted by pornography
babysitters' breasts
Guard watches on screen
can taste monk's anxiety
zen security
Elevator stops
monk gathers robes, sprints away
Guard smiles, loves his job
haunted by pornography
babysitters' breasts
Guard watches on screen
can taste monk's anxiety
zen security
Elevator stops
monk gathers robes, sprints away
Guard smiles, loves his job
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tremble
He approaches
I tremble
He ate a forest first thing
had to skip lunch
No time
too many calories
He doesn’t sleep
Too busy
planning
acquiring
Ate an ocean for supper
I’m next
