Don McKay & Stevie Howell Poetry Reading
Thursday October 9, 2014  7pm
Literary

 andrea.schwenke.wyile@acadiau.ca
 (902) 585-1502

Don McKay reading from Angular Unconformity: The Collected Poems of Don McKay & Stevie Howell—reading from [sharps]—, (icehouse poetry, Goose Lane, Oct. 2014) McKay —Canada Council Funded Tour; Howell funded by League of Canadian Poets.

Over a span of more than forty years, Don McKay has been writing and publishing poetry and essays, his reputation and influence increasing with each passing year. Don McKay’s books have been recognized with many awards, including five nominations for the Governor General’s Award, winning twice, and three nominations for the Griffin Poetry Prize, winning once. He was recognized with admittance to the Order of Canada in 2009.
Angular Unconformity presents, for the first time, the collected poetic works of one of Canada’s preeminent writers in a stunning, cloth-bound edition that will appeal to readers who have followed McKay’s career for many years, as well as new readers who are just discovering this master of Canadian letters. Taken together, these poems comprise a body of work without equal. His is the voice of a careful observer, a confiding and companionate voice that whispers “Look!” to the reader, pointing out the barely noticeable and rarely considered phenomena that underpin our short existence. Without succumbing to anthropomorphism, McKay gives voice to birds and rocks, showing us how to see them as if for the first time. Without resorting to jargon, McKay gives life to phenomenological philosophy in playful and lucid — but never simple — verse. Wherever one looks, contemporary Canadian poetry bears the stamp of McKay’s influence, and this volume provides the proof.

Emergencies, faith, truancy, and poverty intersect in this wry debut that volunteers a transfusion of the unpredictable for those who yearn to transition beyond a muralized Olive Garden world.
Stevie Howell’s [Sharps] takes its cue from an Egyptian hieroglyph used interchangeably to represent “waters,” the letter N, and all prepositions within a sentence. Similarly, Sharps alters its structure and functionality from page to page. The Queen launches an advertising campaign to procure our envy. The last unicorn crochets a sweater out of the sisal cords of the book. The falsity of Billy Joel’s New York propaganda is grounds for libel. We discover the one thing you can do “With a sawed-off rifle, a low IQ, and curiosity/about human biology.”
From certain angles, [Sharps] embraces the possibilities of poetry —from others, it engages in a protracted street fight with language.
https://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864922045
Pricing & Tickets
Pricing: Free
Acadia University
50 Acadia Street
Wolfville, Nova Scotia

 libweb@acadiau.ca
 902-585-1249

   

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