Review of dee Hobsbawn-Smith’s “Bread & Water”
By Ariel Gordon Bread & Water by dee Hobsbawn-Smith University of Regina Press (2021) dee Hobsbawn-Smith is somehow known both for being a Calgary chef, food writer, and single parent…
Review of Nicholas Herring’s “Some Hellish”
By Kimberley Gilmour Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring Goose Lane Editions (2022) Some Hellish submerges the reader into the culture of coastal people and the fishing industry on the shores…
Blurred Sunlight Shimmering on Wet Rocks: A Review of Laurence Hutchman’s “Swimming Toward the Sun”
by D.A. Lockhart Blurred Sunlight Shimmering on Wet Rocks A Review of Laurence Hutchman’s Swimming Toward the Sun. Collected Poems: 1968-2020. Guernica Editions (2020) I first heard Laurence Hutchman’s work…
L’affaire George Elliott Clarke by Stephen Morrissey
J’Accuse…! (Poem versus Silence) by George Elliott Clarke Exile Editions (2021) The title of George Elliott Clarke’s book length poem, J’Accuse…! (Poem versus Silence), is borrowed from Emile Zola’s 1898…
Review of John Wall Barger’s “Resurrection Fail”
by Bret Crowle Resurrection Fail by John Wall Barger Spuyten Duyvil (2021) Resurrection Fail begins with the disciplined and passionate detailing of personal experiences our author, John Wall Barger, but…
Review of Robert Priest’s “If I Didn’t Love the River”
by Patrick Connors If I Didn’t Love the River by Robert Priest ECW Press (2022) Robert Priest’s latest collection pushes boundaries. It cannot be defined as one school or “type”…
Review of Kim Fahner’s “Emptying the Ocean”
By Beth Everest Emptying the Ocean by Kim Fahner Frontenac House (2022) Because the title, itself, of Kim Fahner’s latest book suggests the impossible, I am instantly intrigued, and Emptying…
Review of Anvesh Jain’s “Pilgrim to No Country”
by Jaclyn Pahl Pilgrim to No Country by Anvesh Jain Frontenac House (2022) In his debut poetry collection, Pilgrim to No Country, Anvesh Jain promises to “pen the great ironies…
Review of Bruce Meyers’ “Toast Soldiers”
by Sharon Berg Toast Soldiers by Bruce Meyers Crowsnest Books (2021) Bruce Meyers is a prolific, award-winning writer. Every story in Toast Soldiers is both insightful and serious, with protagonists…
Review of Michelle Good’s “Five Little Indians”
by Shelley McAneeley Five Little Indians by Michelle Good Harper Perennial (2020) Michelle Good reminds me of my grandfather and the time when storytellers spun words into magic. Five Little…