What do you think?
Otter
His body, like yours, would lie
mute as a plum
until a vigilant limb came
to a decision. As you might have guessed
I’ve come to one myself.
Moving from the absurdity of the First World War to the chaos of today’s cities, where men share beds, bottles of ouzo and shade from willow trees, these poems ask questions: If your lover speaks in his sleep, how do you know ‘you’ is you? What good is it to decorate a headstone? What if you think of the perfect comeback to a six-year-old argument? Otter fails, with style, to find answers.
‘Formally impeccable and richly imagined, Ben Ladouceur’s poems track the awe of a mind as it engages with epiphanal moments, both private and historical. His language is filtered through an intelligence that’s queer and graceful, always in search of the singular phrase and a music that startles with its precision. As each poem unfurls, keen insight gives way to the wonder of words. Otter is a magnificent debut.’
— Eduardo C. Corral, author of Slow Lightning, winner of the Yale Younger Poets Prize
‘Ladouceur writes with an awareness of queer history, documenting it faithfully, but with his own twist … This is poetry motivated by an honest wit.’
— John Barton, Arc Poetry Magazine
Ben Ladouceur is a writer originally from Ottawa, now based in Toronto. His work has been featured in Arc, The Malahat Review, PRISM international and The Walrus, and in the Best Canadian Poetry anthology. He was awarded the Earle Birney Poetry Prize in 2013.
mute as a plum
until a vigilant limb came
to a decision. As you might have guessed
I’ve come to one myself.
Moving from the absurdity of the First World War to the chaos of today’s cities, where men share beds, bottles of ouzo and shade from willow trees, these poems ask questions: If your lover speaks in his sleep, how do you know ‘you’ is you? What good is it to decorate a headstone? What if you think of the perfect comeback to a six-year-old argument? Otter fails, with style, to find answers.
‘Formally impeccable and richly imagined, Ben Ladouceur’s poems track the awe of a mind as it engages with epiphanal moments, both private and historical. His language is filtered through an intelligence that’s queer and graceful, always in search of the singular phrase and a music that startles with its precision. As each poem unfurls, keen insight gives way to the wonder of words. Otter is a magnificent debut.’
— Eduardo C. Corral, author of Slow Lightning, winner of the Yale Younger Poets Prize
‘Ladouceur writes with an awareness of queer history, documenting it faithfully, but with his own twist … This is poetry motivated by an honest wit.’
— John Barton, Arc Poetry Magazine
Ben Ladouceur is a writer originally from Ottawa, now based in Toronto. His work has been featured in Arc, The Malahat Review, PRISM international and The Walrus, and in the Best Canadian Poetry anthology. He was awarded the Earle Birney Poetry Prize in 2013.
80 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 17, 2019
stay tuned for the Small Machine Talks Episode 44: Interview with Ben Ladouceur at the end of May. We will discuss his latest poetry book, Mad Long Emotion, Otter and a variety of his chapbooks. Sign up to the AngelHousePress mailing list to get notices about the upcoming episode, subsequent episodes, publication info and calls. http://angelhousepress.com/
or check out the podcast on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-301339427
or check out the podcast on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-301339427
May 5, 2026
Not too bad, some of the wording and stylizing on the page made it difficult to follow, and i felt some of the poems could have had stronger references to the different time periods to better align with the historical development
April 22, 2019
Gay hipster rot. The first two poems are the worst in the book. I’m confused about that and about some passages I laughed out loud at; not sure if they were intended to be funny or not.
May 23, 2023
never thought i would read
(and deeply enjoy
and feel)
poetry about byzantium
those days aren't
behind us
they're just us.
(and deeply enjoy
and feel)
poetry about byzantium
those days aren't
behind us
they're just us.
September 22, 2025
Too many *wink* *wink*, see what I did there? stunts to be enjoyable. Not too keen on formal acrobatics if the poems make me feel nothing.
July 12, 2015
A gritty, explicit, yet tender collection of modern queer poetry.
November 7, 2015
I am nuts about this collection of queer poetry. Very sharp and urban. Not whiny or pretentious. Just REAL. Smart work!
February 5, 2016
A qualified yes. The work grew on me after a while. Really enjoyed the last section Dead Dreams. The work held together especially on second reading.
June 15, 2016
excellent
2016 poetry
best reads
2016 poetry
best reads
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews