Category Archives: Poetry

SCRATCHING IN CAPS

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Francois Lachance

ALL THE TEXT IN THIS BOOK (CLOUDS RUNNING IN) IS IN UPPER CASE INCLUDING THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE. IT TAKES A WHILE BUT THE READER ADAPTS. THE FINGER GLIDES. THE LACK OF PUNCTUATION INVITES US TO RE-EXAMINE THE BORDERS. “A BLANKET … Continue reading →

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Skateboard Trail

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Francois Lachance

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson This Accident of Being Lost “caribou ghosts & untold stories” (p, 33) caribou ghosts & untold stories bad timing & smashed hearts “travel to me now” (p. 47) tell me stories about caribou & skateboards fill my … Continue reading →

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The Specifics of Universal Grammar

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Francois Lachance

You gotta love the cheek. The man asks me,   ”Do you speak Cherokee?” But it’s all I ever speak, The end goal of several generations of a smuggling project. We’ve slipped the barriers, Evaded border guards. I smile, “Always”. The … Continue reading →

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Colouration

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Francois Lachance

Ronald Johnson A Line of Poetry, A Row of Trees (1964) [Jargon 42] “Wild Apples” ends … as a cow may rust like rock I like how this just creeps up on you… the cow of a generic colour becomes … Continue reading →

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Eschatology Eschewed

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Francois Lachance

Gary Thomas Morse Safety Sand The “Safe Spaces” sequence In the opening section, where we are asked to “admit difficulty” from line one, there is a comment that is almost a metacommentary: “when cognitive / tinkering went rogue with / … Continue reading →

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Do You Believe in Magic?

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Francois Lachance

Philip Pullman in The Guardian presents the case for a way of seeing connectedness. I’m relying on poetry to make this point because I think that poetry itself is a kind of enchantment. The effect that certain lines and images … Continue reading →

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Wanting Pell Mell

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Francois Lachance

J.D. McClatchy Division of Spoils “Tea with the Local Saint” The pull of desire is nicely captured in this anaphora. I wanted to feel the stalk rise and the blade fall. I wanted my life’s arithmetic glazed and fired. I … Continue reading →

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Pun: Hook, Line and Sinker

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Francois Lachance

Madhur Anand New Index for Predicting Catastrophes “Nature Morte with Zoological Professor” The poem ends on a delightful jeux de mots invoking the homonymic possibilities of the bated/baited pair: “1 man / is going fishing today to forget about brains, … Continue reading →

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Madhur Anand’s Science of Words: Cycling and Recycling

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Francois Lachance

“Moving On” — its beginning and end… I’m on a stationary bike looking at numbers. Heart rate, calories consumed, distance travelled, time spent, instantaneous speed. Each motivates, differently. […] By half the year’s end I’m not where I thought I … Continue reading →

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The Ineffable in Autumn

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Francois Lachance

John Williams The Necessary Lie “For My Students, Returning to College” Now splintered grass encrusts the yard And crisp leaves slant the brittle air; Impassive, close, the neutral sky Engages buildings lean and spare,           The day is lean and hard. … Continue reading →

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