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Raven Seeking
The first part of this work brings together Jackson's new and reworked pieces into the verse narrative of the Raven Seeker. The Seeker begins by ending his lifelong fascination with rhyme and meter once and for all, progresses through a journey of universalized self-discovery, and finishes his quest by beginning anew. The second half of the work is a collection of new and previously published short stories.
180 pages, Paperback
Published September 30, 2000
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About the author
Quinn Tyler Jackson
20 books4 followersBorn and raised in Western Canada, Jackson grew up as a child in logging camps, where radio plays and reading were his only forms of entertainment. Upon his return to the city, he felt the call to write fiction, and approached art with a passion and fury. Rather than jump directly into authorhood, he first edited, and then promoted others' writing as a literary agent. Eventually, he moved forward into his own art, and his first three novels were published in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2002.
In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada.
Jackson lives in Western Canada, where he continues to write fiction and work in scientific research.
In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada.
Jackson lives in Western Canada, where he continues to write fiction and work in scientific research.
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November 10, 2014
Annotated version of this book review here: ebclay.com
Here is the short review: “Raven Seeking by Quinn Tyler Jackson is quintessential genius.” -Eusebius A. Clay
In other words, you should buy it. Buy it here. Annoy Quinn on Facebook here.
IF YOU ARE IN THE TECH INDUSTRY, YOU WILL LOVE THESE POEMS. There are many mathematical references. Quinn is a computer scientist himself. The cool thing about poetry is that it doesn’t really take a long time to read; you could read a few poems while you use the facilities, and then put the book down.
The book is 73 pages long and contains six (the biblical number for man) “parts”:
Part I — Denouement
(A french word that means closing or ending of a story; the aftermath) I can only speculate as to why the first section is given a name that could mean the last section; perhaps the beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning; a loose reference to the concept of The Alpha and The Omega; or in other words, divine words. Perhaps Quinn, like Shakespeare in his lifetime, was aware of the fact that his poetry is eternal. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think he would mind that interpretation.
Part II — Apostrophes (and other Punctuated Equilibriums)
Oddly enough, the word “pun" is contained in the word "Punctuated."
Part III — Tea Houses
I’m a huge fan of Lewis Carroll, who had a rule of threes. The words: “tea”, “eat”, and “ate” frequently show up in my own poetry. The word poetry rhymes with three, as well as tea. I must say that I especially enjoyed this section of the book. Three is a magic number. It is also a holy number. “Godel to a Lover” is my favorite poem. #godelgeek
Part IV — Cab Rides
The title of this section conjured up mental images of being stuck in rush hour traffic, which; for better or for worse, usually is the worst around 4pm. Due to my dyslexia, I initially misread the title of the first poem in this section “The Conversation of Payers.” At first glance, I thought it read, “The Conversion and Prayers.”
Part V — The Beginning
In the Beginning, there was God. Before time, God said let there be Quinn in our time. Einstein said there is no such thing as time. Quinn said let there be one collection of poetry. Seriously, maybe we should begin reading this book on page 50 and read it backwards. I do that anyway. But wait, in the next part the author could be subliminally suggesting that we read the book forwards.
Part VI — for words (in no particular disorder)
Poetry, in essence, is an inversion of the Lacanian symbolic order. There are no rules, per say. This collection contains allusions to the meta; it is self-referential.
One could make the argument that the book actually contains 7 parts, which is the number for perfection; but the first section is titled, “PART ZERO — The Poet’s Prefacing.” Zero isn’t anything; it’s just a number that represents nothing; and something can’t come from nothing. Face it, a preface isn’t part of a book; it is what comes before the book begins—tricks and prefixes aside.
This poetry collection was discontinued and out-of-print for a very long time. If you are a hardcore reader and enjoy poetry, you owe Quinn a sincere “thank you” for republishing it. You could also thank me, because I had to bug the shit out of him to make it available again. I sent a barrage of emails:
"I wanna fucking read it, bro!"
I also spammed him on twitter and facebook. It worked. He told me in an email that he would be willing to send me a signed poetry collection “Apostrophe to my Cigarette,” but that is the title of one of the poems in this book; so I am not sure if this edition of Raven Seeking is a synthesis of his other work and the initial edition of this book, or if it is an edited edition of the first edition—that would mean that another collection of poetry exists.
I am also curious as to why he chose to take it out of print. From my own experience as a writer, I realized that the optimal age to first publish anything is late twenties or early thirties; according to Dante, the age of 33 might be best; Quinn, as a child prodigy, could be the exception to the rule. He is a modern day Rimbaud.
image
Good job, Rimbaud. Rims and jobs.
When I first wrote “Dread in Madrid”, I was in college. Translating Vivaldi’s Four Seasons into prose poetry seemed like a good idea at the time; indeed it was, but I now realize that I have advanced as a writer and am capable of writing something better. Now time for a tautology: What I have written, I have written. No plans to unpublish any of my earlier work. I wish Quinn would embrace the same attitude and let me read the first edition of Raven Seeker. I promise to Helen of Destroy my copy after it is read.
How did I first find Quinn Tyler Jackson?
Excellent question. One day, after reading some sub-par poems on The Atlantic, in a fit of frustration, I decided to Google the phrase “Poetry IQ 140.” A website popped up that provided links to high IQ societies; one of these was PGS.
In order to qualify for membership into this society, one must have a verbal IQ that is above 99.5% of the population. This society is no longer active; furthermore, Quinn informed me that he is no longer involved in “high IQ activities.” I suspect that I would qualify for this group, but I do not see the point in joining; I am already a member of MENSA, which is still active and is the oldest one. They also have more members.
I never tried in school because I was subject to persecution; neither did I try on my IQ tests. My parents made me take IQ tests against my will; will it surprise you that I did not perform to the best of my ability? There was no incentive to do so. I was depressed and under stress during the test. Because I have a learning disability, I performed better on untimed tests. I theorize that quantifying intelligence beyond two standard deviations from the norm becomes a nebulous and inaccurate process. Many tests that qualify an individual for entry into a super-elite high IQ society are not timed. The Mega Society is one. I personally do not care what my actual IQ is; it is high enough; although I am sure that it is higher than standardized testing indicates. I have no further interest in intelligence testing; suck on my testicles.
I am by no means a sunburned, tan gent; although a gentleman; I am merely an average critic of poetry on a tangent. Back on topic! To pick a fellow gentleman and scholar, I have selected Quinn for the win.
If you are a female reader with very high mentalizing ability, I highly recommend this book. It is light years beyond Fifty Shades of Grey; that is to say, some of these poems hint at erotic elements; I am fully aware of how the female brain operates; just take a peek:
Ridden:
"…a simple kiss, but a deep, soul scorching
fire of the lips; ride me, drive me slow, to the light…”
AND:
Goddess of the Hips:
"…pressed against the soft alter
that is your breasts, lead me to the
Inner Sanctum once again.”
The above verse is a reference to intercourse. There are other oscillations; this fact makes it beautiful. Although he did not live at the time of Pentecost; Quinn speaks in tongues; a gifted babbler and polyglot; not a builder of Babel; tower hours, not ours. I am currently riding the current; reading “Lament of an Architect of Babel.” It is difficult reading; I speed read articles on The New Yorker; but his design style is dense.
I quote “Mobius Mind” from Raven Seeker:
"…planning for platitude in pleated
pants
of powdery pretentiousness while
pretty, pulchritudinous petunias
pounding poetry prosaically
play pipes loudly…”
This is giftedness; a gift to you who would understand the correct usage of alliteration; a poetic technique that is too often abused; in this case, it was used correctly, with perfect pitch. Not any run-of-the-mill poet can pull this off; it requires skill.
The last poem proves genius: it is entitled, “for grove.” This is a reference to Dr. Greg Grove, founder of PGS. I have been obsessed with Poe for all of my life. It was I who created the phrase, “poe who carried the cross of the letter ‘T’”. Creating poetry requires suffering; it is an art. Same minds think alike; Quinn writes in his final poem:
"where genius grows
that is the grove
where ravens raise in
droves is the poe em-dash
measure man to music”
Here is the short review: “Raven Seeking by Quinn Tyler Jackson is quintessential genius.” -Eusebius A. Clay
In other words, you should buy it. Buy it here. Annoy Quinn on Facebook here.
IF YOU ARE IN THE TECH INDUSTRY, YOU WILL LOVE THESE POEMS. There are many mathematical references. Quinn is a computer scientist himself. The cool thing about poetry is that it doesn’t really take a long time to read; you could read a few poems while you use the facilities, and then put the book down.
The book is 73 pages long and contains six (the biblical number for man) “parts”:
Part I — Denouement
(A french word that means closing or ending of a story; the aftermath) I can only speculate as to why the first section is given a name that could mean the last section; perhaps the beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning; a loose reference to the concept of The Alpha and The Omega; or in other words, divine words. Perhaps Quinn, like Shakespeare in his lifetime, was aware of the fact that his poetry is eternal. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think he would mind that interpretation.
Part II — Apostrophes (and other Punctuated Equilibriums)
Oddly enough, the word “pun" is contained in the word "Punctuated."
Part III — Tea Houses
I’m a huge fan of Lewis Carroll, who had a rule of threes. The words: “tea”, “eat”, and “ate” frequently show up in my own poetry. The word poetry rhymes with three, as well as tea. I must say that I especially enjoyed this section of the book. Three is a magic number. It is also a holy number. “Godel to a Lover” is my favorite poem. #godelgeek
Part IV — Cab Rides
The title of this section conjured up mental images of being stuck in rush hour traffic, which; for better or for worse, usually is the worst around 4pm. Due to my dyslexia, I initially misread the title of the first poem in this section “The Conversation of Payers.” At first glance, I thought it read, “The Conversion and Prayers.”
Part V — The Beginning
In the Beginning, there was God. Before time, God said let there be Quinn in our time. Einstein said there is no such thing as time. Quinn said let there be one collection of poetry. Seriously, maybe we should begin reading this book on page 50 and read it backwards. I do that anyway. But wait, in the next part the author could be subliminally suggesting that we read the book forwards.
Part VI — for words (in no particular disorder)
Poetry, in essence, is an inversion of the Lacanian symbolic order. There are no rules, per say. This collection contains allusions to the meta; it is self-referential.
One could make the argument that the book actually contains 7 parts, which is the number for perfection; but the first section is titled, “PART ZERO — The Poet’s Prefacing.” Zero isn’t anything; it’s just a number that represents nothing; and something can’t come from nothing. Face it, a preface isn’t part of a book; it is what comes before the book begins—tricks and prefixes aside.
This poetry collection was discontinued and out-of-print for a very long time. If you are a hardcore reader and enjoy poetry, you owe Quinn a sincere “thank you” for republishing it. You could also thank me, because I had to bug the shit out of him to make it available again. I sent a barrage of emails:
"I wanna fucking read it, bro!"
I also spammed him on twitter and facebook. It worked. He told me in an email that he would be willing to send me a signed poetry collection “Apostrophe to my Cigarette,” but that is the title of one of the poems in this book; so I am not sure if this edition of Raven Seeking is a synthesis of his other work and the initial edition of this book, or if it is an edited edition of the first edition—that would mean that another collection of poetry exists.
I am also curious as to why he chose to take it out of print. From my own experience as a writer, I realized that the optimal age to first publish anything is late twenties or early thirties; according to Dante, the age of 33 might be best; Quinn, as a child prodigy, could be the exception to the rule. He is a modern day Rimbaud.
image
Good job, Rimbaud. Rims and jobs.
When I first wrote “Dread in Madrid”, I was in college. Translating Vivaldi’s Four Seasons into prose poetry seemed like a good idea at the time; indeed it was, but I now realize that I have advanced as a writer and am capable of writing something better. Now time for a tautology: What I have written, I have written. No plans to unpublish any of my earlier work. I wish Quinn would embrace the same attitude and let me read the first edition of Raven Seeker. I promise to Helen of Destroy my copy after it is read.
How did I first find Quinn Tyler Jackson?
Excellent question. One day, after reading some sub-par poems on The Atlantic, in a fit of frustration, I decided to Google the phrase “Poetry IQ 140.” A website popped up that provided links to high IQ societies; one of these was PGS.
In order to qualify for membership into this society, one must have a verbal IQ that is above 99.5% of the population. This society is no longer active; furthermore, Quinn informed me that he is no longer involved in “high IQ activities.” I suspect that I would qualify for this group, but I do not see the point in joining; I am already a member of MENSA, which is still active and is the oldest one. They also have more members.
I never tried in school because I was subject to persecution; neither did I try on my IQ tests. My parents made me take IQ tests against my will; will it surprise you that I did not perform to the best of my ability? There was no incentive to do so. I was depressed and under stress during the test. Because I have a learning disability, I performed better on untimed tests. I theorize that quantifying intelligence beyond two standard deviations from the norm becomes a nebulous and inaccurate process. Many tests that qualify an individual for entry into a super-elite high IQ society are not timed. The Mega Society is one. I personally do not care what my actual IQ is; it is high enough; although I am sure that it is higher than standardized testing indicates. I have no further interest in intelligence testing; suck on my testicles.
I am by no means a sunburned, tan gent; although a gentleman; I am merely an average critic of poetry on a tangent. Back on topic! To pick a fellow gentleman and scholar, I have selected Quinn for the win.
If you are a female reader with very high mentalizing ability, I highly recommend this book. It is light years beyond Fifty Shades of Grey; that is to say, some of these poems hint at erotic elements; I am fully aware of how the female brain operates; just take a peek:
Ridden:
"…a simple kiss, but a deep, soul scorching
fire of the lips; ride me, drive me slow, to the light…”
AND:
Goddess of the Hips:
"…pressed against the soft alter
that is your breasts, lead me to the
Inner Sanctum once again.”
The above verse is a reference to intercourse. There are other oscillations; this fact makes it beautiful. Although he did not live at the time of Pentecost; Quinn speaks in tongues; a gifted babbler and polyglot; not a builder of Babel; tower hours, not ours. I am currently riding the current; reading “Lament of an Architect of Babel.” It is difficult reading; I speed read articles on The New Yorker; but his design style is dense.
I quote “Mobius Mind” from Raven Seeker:
"…planning for platitude in pleated
pants
of powdery pretentiousness while
pretty, pulchritudinous petunias
pounding poetry prosaically
play pipes loudly…”
This is giftedness; a gift to you who would understand the correct usage of alliteration; a poetic technique that is too often abused; in this case, it was used correctly, with perfect pitch. Not any run-of-the-mill poet can pull this off; it requires skill.
The last poem proves genius: it is entitled, “for grove.” This is a reference to Dr. Greg Grove, founder of PGS. I have been obsessed with Poe for all of my life. It was I who created the phrase, “poe who carried the cross of the letter ‘T’”. Creating poetry requires suffering; it is an art. Same minds think alike; Quinn writes in his final poem:
"where genius grows
that is the grove
where ravens raise in
droves is the poe em-dash
measure man to music”
Displaying 1 of 1 review