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poetry

Susan Haley: a collection of confessional poetry, Where the Sea Kuniks the Land, Ashley Qilavaq-Savard.

What is the source of joy we find in poetry? That thing that caused the prickle of A.E. Housman’s beard, that transfixed Anne of Green Gables in her desk when the teacher read Tennyson’s line, “The horns of Elfland faintly blowing.” It is what comes not from going about the woodland to see the cherry hung with snow, but evoking it in those very words, and with the delicate metaphor implied.
 

Gary Barwin: Not so much unfinished as continuing to arrive, Unfinishing, Brian Henderson.

I hesitate to say a book is wise — that seems dangerous — but this book is wise. However, the wisdom in Unfinishing comes not from marble-carveable or Instagram-shareable truisms but from careful attention not only to the world and life as it is experienced but to attention itself. The poems enact a deep mindfulness — to metaphysics and to the process of thinking. Henderson evokes the flux and fluidity of consciousness: our experience of time and memory.

Pre-Order the Winter Issue Today!

 

The forthcoming Winter 2023 issue of The Fiddlehead is now available for pre-order! 

The issue will feature the winning story from The Fiddlehead's 2022 Fiction Contest, as well as work from talented writers such as Alice Zorn, Abu Bakr Sadiq, Kate Cayley, Brian Bartlett and many more.

Pre-orders will be in the mail by the end of January. To order your copy click the appropriate link below: 

Canadian Addresses

Ellen McGinn's Reading Recommendation

Ellen McGinn lives on Saturna Island with her husband and their dog. A graduate of the University of British Columbia’s MFA programme, she has published a book of poetry, From Dark Horse Road and her essay "Tabernacle" was published in the 2022 creative nonfiction issue of The Fiddlehead. Her plays were produced in the Vancouver and Victoria fringe festivals. Her current play, Antarctica Welcomes International Women’s Year 1975 is in its third draft. One of her favourite things was volunteering with Students On Ice. 

John Barton: Gay Canlit Icon: A Review by KIRBY of John Barton's "We Are Not Avatars"

John Barton: Gay Canlit Icon

We Are Not Avatars, John Barton. Palimpsest Press, 2019.

When I told a friend I was about to write a review of We Are Not Avatars (Palimpsest Press, 2019), a collection of John Barton’s essays, memoirs, and manifestos, they looked at me quizzically and suggested I’d set myself on an unrealistic challenge, for how can anyone critique an icon? My friend gave me pause because I never considered John Barton to be one.

Poets as Observers of Space and Absence: A Review by Manahil Bandukwala of Gillian Sze's "Quiet Night Think"

Poets as Observers of Space and Absence

Quiet Night Think, Gillian Sze. ECW Press, 2022.

I first came to Gillian Sze’s work through her chapbook, Fricatives. Fricatives has lingered in the back of my mind for years, and Sze’s latest collection of poems and essays, Quiet Night Think, will no doubt do the same. Comprised of six personal essays interspersed with poems, Quiet Night Think meditates on poetry and motherhood. Where do these intersect, and where do they diverge?

Tanis MacDonald’s Reading Recommendations

Tanis MacDonald is the author of six books, including the forthcoming Straggle: Adventures in Walking While Female (Wolsak & Wynn). She has been awarded the Open Seasons Awards for Nonfiction and the Bliss Carman Prize for Poetry, and has had work appear recently in Atlantis, FreeFall, and Grain. Her essay "Ricochet: An Arcade" was featured in the all-creative nonfiction issue of The Fiddlehead

Pre-Order the Autumn Issue Now!

The forthcoming Autumn 2022 issue of The Fiddlehead is now available for pre-order! 

The issue will feature the winning essay from The Fiddlehead's 2022 Creative Nonfiction Contest, as well as work from award-winning authors such as Tolu Oloruntoba, Corinna Chong and many more.

Pre-orders will be in the mail by the end of October. Don't miss your chance to reserve a copy today! 

Canadian Addresses

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