David Manicom’s eloquent debut collection. Stories of loss and yearning and multi-generational family ties which reflect the author’s deep roots in rural Ontario, and the title story, “Ice in Dark Water”—the startling tale of the last surviving nun in a Montreal convent. Continue reading
The Island in Winter is Terence Young’s fresh and broad take on the universe. With a wry sense of humour he chronicles his childhood, family, marriage and dreams. He explores the natural and symbolic landscape with a depth of vision that is surprising in a first book. Continue reading
Selected Poems & Prose Poems Author: Kirby Congdon | ISBN: 097725240X : 9780977252404 | Format: Paperback | Size: 140x215mm | Pages: 83 | Weight: .1 Kg. | Published: Presa Press … Continue reading
This collection of poetry is a plea and a gift from two black youths to Africans of the continent and the Diaspora. We sought to explore the broadest themes and most salient of issues facing Africans. Through these poems and essays we offer our views, ideas, questions, and art first and foremost to our people, our ‘Old friends’. Continue reading
Focusing on the foundations of poetry this reference teaches aspiring poets the mechanics of writing verse. Offering advice on the abstract poetic notions — what makes good poetry, the meaning and inspirations of poetry — and the concrete — how to start a poem, how to craft its shape, and how to use the various poetic forms — this concise and insightful book provides inspiring and practical instruction. Including the author’s own poems for guidance, this revised edition also discusses the direction of post-millennium, contemporary poetry. Continue reading
Based on the author’s real experiences as a member of a search and rescue team on the Great Lakes in the late 1960’s, ‘Sea Dog’ puts a different face on those times. Written with a wry, ironic humour, this a coming-of-age story that parallels the maturation of American society during that period. The story takes place during the glory days of manned lighthouses and boat rescues, before automation of the lights and Coast Guard reliance on air power. Numerous realistic Coast Guard rescues are described in detail. The salty characters are deftly drawn, including Yogi, the sea dog, one of the most unique canine characters in literature. ‘Sea Dog’ is a funny, personal look at the everyday heroes who risk their lives in the United States Coast Guard. Continue reading
A. D. Winans has been around the blocks of San Francisco streets for over a generation as a witness to the changes that mark a society of consumerism gone amok with wars and the many desolations resulting from the contradictions, hypocrisies and downright injustices of a society living at the height of both compassion and decadence. There is a celebration in these poems of the figures of San Francisco streets, the ‘characters’ that have been sacrificed to the system and yet have resisted final destructions. And at the centre of all the highs and lows of Winans’ discordant narrative and, at times lyric moments composed of biting images of his wanderings, geographically or physically, are his genuine praise-songs to the fellow street-poets who have helped to shape his own gritty style. 71 poems selected by the author, at the age of 70. His poems are heartfelt expressions of a wise observer, powerfully honest and uncompromised by literary fashion. Continue reading
In these poems, Connie Fox explores the ancient theology/philosophy of the Great Goddess world-view where the Earth itself is literally the Earth Mother & everything is dominated by a sense of female sexuality/fertility. ‘The Dream of the Black Topaz Chamber’, ‘Oma’, & ‘Nachthymnen’ highlight this primordial femininity with lush imagery & rich language. ‘10170’ and ‘Babicka’ link the past with the present & provide a glimpse into Connie’s experiences, sensuality, & awareness of the life-death cycle. This increased awareness of death & aloneness permeates the imagery in ‘Our Lady Of Laussel’ and ‘Entre Nous’. Fox identifies & identifies with the history/anthropology/philosophy of female sexuality & portrays it with courage, sensitivity, & intelligence. This poetry is a kind of Jungian-Freudian Id-history of Connie’s life & relationships from childhood to adulthood. Continue reading
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson contains the essence of transcendental philosophy. Emerson reflects upon human potential & encourages us to listen to the voice within. He explores & illuminates the concepts of idealism, individualism & spiritualism. His belief in determining one’s values from personal insights rather than conforming to societal judgements remains pertinent today. Emerson has inspired classical writers from Thoreau, Whitman & Nietzsche to contemporary authors such as D. H. Lawrence, William Carlos Williams & Ernest Hemingway. Continue reading
The poems in Christopher Patton’s debut collection, “Ox” are about seeing clearly, and also about relinquishing the need to see with specific intent. Through this tension they find their idiosyncratic magic. Like the 12th-century Buddhist parable of the ox-herder, this collection begins with a search, and its open-ended journey establishes the form of its religious and philosophical reach. Moving across lucently rendered North American landscapes, Patton catches a glimpse of his own spiritual setting, and in the process suggests a new direction, perhaps an entirely new scale, for Canadian nature poetry. Brimming with beautifully-controlled descriptions and startlingly precise word-play, “Ox” is an image of vulnerability before the world’s plenitude. It is an astonishing achievement. Continue reading