Merrybegot

by Mary Dalton

Unabridged audio book edition of Merrybegot (Véhicule Press, 2004).
Listening Time: 60 minutes

Performed by Anita Best (narration and song) with Patrick Boyle on trumpet and flugelhorn.

Genres: Poetry

Audio CD

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Mary Dalton is a Canadian poet and educator, born in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. She is professor emerita in the Department of English at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, and founder of the SPARKS Literary Festival at the university. Dalton is also a former editor of the Newfoundland literary journal Tickleace and St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador's poet laureate for 2019–2020.

Reviews

[Lara Maynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate to take a couple of literature courses with Mary Dalton as a university student. This book of poetry is another expression of her love of language and poetry. I keep my copy handy and dip back in frequently. It's wonderful.

I didn’t quite take to the audiobook version—too much sound in addition to the poems, which I think are enough without bells and whistles. But l may revisit it for another try.

[Samidha; समिधा · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow this was a tough one!

[Lara Maynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among my very favourite books of poems, one that I return to again and again. I am less enamoured of the audiobook version, which has too much going on in it; readings without all the instruments would have better suited.

[David]

Like so many other things I've read, the source of this little nugget of wisdom has long since vanished from memory, but the nugget itself is still there. The story goes that a poet was asked what advice he would give to a young person who told the poet of a similar ambition to create poetry. The poet supposedly responded, "I would ask the young person why they felt they wanted to write poetry. If a person said 'because I feel I have something important to say,' I would try and find the gentlest possible way of letting them down quickly. If the person said, 'I want to be a poet because I absolutely love playing with language,' that person I would encourage." That's where these 'Mary-begot' poems are: having tremendous fun playing with language, especially language as "she be spoke" in Newfoundland, according to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English. Sometimes there is a sense of sameness from text to text, but there's never a lack of a sense of fun.

[Janet Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep returning to this collection and it just continues to give back. I absolutely love it. Anita Best's voice is melt in your mouth. Patrick Boyle's horn playing is infinitely inventive and the two together make a true dialogue between the words and the music.

[b · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a treat. You should read it with the resources available to unpack some of the most idiosyncratic NFLD lingo, but know that so much of it can be accessed by taking your time with it. https://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/

Lots of great little monologues. Lots of menace. Not bloated. More poetry should be like this.

[Tyjinc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked all the images of salt brine rubbed on fish skin and people running to and from the ocean and the one about the man growing his own fins. Need to go to Newfoundland.

[Brittany Knight]

The ministers daughter breaks the rules and ends up pregnant. She goes to Nell who is training to become a healer to get rid of the baby, but the baby is a Merrybegot like Nell. A merrybegot is a child special to nature. The ministers daughter, Grace, not wanting to deal with the consequences of her actions points a finger at Nell and Cries witch. The minister, not wanting the shame of a sinful daughter, helps set Nell up for witchcraft. Nell saves the life of a young man, who happens to be a prince. The young prince takes her out of the town that tried to kill her. Patience, Grace's sister, is angry when she discovers that Nell did not cause Graces condition like she said. Patience is so upset that she was tricked into nearly killing an innocet girl when her family moves to Salem she is the one to cry witch, and her finger is pointed at her sister.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan.

[Jacqueline]

Found this book when looking for my next poetry book and was intrigued that it was in audio format so I decided to check it out. It was a bit of a struggle to get in the frame of mind of listening to poems instead of stories and some of these poems are so short they were over and started another before you realized it. I think it may have been better to have had a paper copy to follow along with. The musical interludes between the poems added interest and atmosphere to some of the poems.