Quill and Quire

Poetry

Treble

By Evelyn Lau

Evelyn Lau’s latest poetry collection contains her signature bleak insights into relationships with an added twist: the poems are written in the second-person voice. The poems in Treble address a variety of subjects, mainly relationships ... Read More »

May 17, 2005 | Filed under: Poetry

Drift

By Kevin Connolly

The poems in Drift, Toronto arts journalist Kevin Connolly’s third collection, make huge imaginative leaps. Driven by surreal imagery and associative wordplay, they are slippery creatures, tough to pin down. At his best, as in ... Read More »

May 17, 2005 | Filed under: Poetry

Souwesto Home

By James Reaney

The thematic keystone to Souwesto Home, the latest collection of poetry from Ontario writer James Reaney, comes late in the volume, in the closing lines of “Ice Cream,” a poem that begins with “the local ... Read More »

May 17, 2005 | Filed under: Poetry

Whetstone

By Lorna Crozier

Whetstone, the 13th collection of poems published by multi-award-winning poet and University of Victoria professor Lorna Crozier, is a disappointing read. Not often downright awful – though certain strained metaphors and similes are jarring, as ... Read More »

March 22, 2005 | Filed under: Poetry

Between the Walls

By Paul Vermeersch

Paul Vermeersch paints poems with a palette of words so sincere that even his darkest moments avoid the usual clichés of the depressed poet. His latest collection, Between the Walls, views society as it is, ... Read More »

March 22, 2005 | Filed under: Poetry

Bastardi Puri

By Walid Bitar

The poems in Walid Bitar’s third collection are, as the book’s paradoxical title suggests, pure bastards. The poetics of Bitar, a Lebanese-born Canadian, are characterized by typically postmodern concerns: fractured subjectivity; the malleability of language ... Read More »

March 11, 2005 | Filed under: Poetry

The Possible Past

By Aislinn Hunter

Poetry should be a clear expression of mixed feelings, as W.H. Auden said. Aislinn Hunter’s latest collection follows that theory. In The Possible Past, Hunter touches on complex and often contradictory ideas and emotions often ... Read More »

January 21, 2005 | Filed under: Poetry

The Sorrowing House

By Genevieve Lehr

In her debut collection of poetry, Genevieve Lehr shows a penchant for lyrical rhythm and beautiful imagery. Yet most of the poems are not innovative enough to warrant a second glance, despite their range of ... Read More »

November 22, 2004 | Filed under: Poetry