Soft Geography

by Gillian Wigmore

What a wonderful, fresh voice Gillian Wigmore brings to the page. These wise poems know the push and pull within family. They reveal the tender truths behind the rough edges of small-town life. Her voice resonates with authenticity, and whether she is writing about a near drowning or ice fishing, she is ultimately writing about the complications of love. These are poems you will not soon forget. - Robert Hilles, Governor General's Award-winner for Poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Canada

84 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2007

About the author

A library branch manager and the daughter of a veterinarian, Gillian Wigmore has published three books of poems: soft geography, winner of the ReLit Prize; Dirt of Ages, shortlisted for the George Ryga Award; and Orient. As well as Night Watch, she has written a novella, Grayling, and Glory, a novel. She lives in Prince George, BC.

Reviews

[Magdelanye · Rating 3 out of 5]

These poems are not soft. They are chiselled from the geography of the rugged Canadian landscape, BC mostly though there are some detours, including the searching of the various geographies of the heart.

I wavered when rating this... I liked some of the poems very much, and Id give it 4/7 in my system

[Caledonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best way to consume this book was slow and methodical. It was easy to get lost in a poem for quite some time. Some lines were "soft geography" and others were sharp, heavy, and really captured the landscape of her home.

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book of poetry! This volume contains so many amazing lines of our language that it makes me intent on working on my poetry. I have left poetry aside for so long that I felt that I couldn't do it, yet I am continually enticed by the volumes of poetry that are being written in our country and around the globe. I am ready to branch out again and learn the art of communicating through poetry what is coming into my soul to be interpreted. Poetry is one form of writing that expresses a thought, or an idea in a way that no other written form can accomplish. After reading Soft Geography I really feel that there is an inner landscape that can only be expressed through poetry. Gillian Wigmore accomplishes that. One example of her brilliance is: "Suppose The Poem"(p.43)
"suppose the words went back inside the pen
sucked up like spills
or thoughts that you knew better than to release"

This is just a fragment and within these pages Gillian also shares the experience of "the North" with us. She really captures what it means to live and experience "the North".

[Irene Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this little book of poems, a slim volume, a huge impact. Every so often I pick it up and read it again. Always with pleasure. Always with the same bright zing and awe at the author's gift for capturing the universal in the small, and the timeless in a moment. Simply beautiful!