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Inklings
Inklings is a collection of poetry in three parts. Part one focuses on the poet's childhood in Point Edward, Ontario, with poems about relatives, friends, neighbours and village characters. Part two contains poems that deal with family and friends in the present. Part three is a miscellany of occasional poems and ones about the writing process itself.
64 pages, Paperback
Published August 23, 2017
4 people want to read
About the author
Don Gutteridge
118 books100 followersDon Gutteridge was born in Sarnia and raised in the nearby village of Point Edward. He taught High School English for seven years, later becoming a Professor in the Faculty of Education at the Western University, where he is now Professor Emeritus. He is the author of twenty-two novels. including the twelve-volume Marc Edwards mystery series. Don is also an accomplished poet and has published twenty-three books of poetry, one of which, Coppermine, was a finalist for the 1973 Governor-General's Award. In 1970 he won the UWO President's medal for the best periodical poem of that year. To listen to interviews with the author, go to: http://thereandthen.podbean.com. Don currently lives in London, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 5, 2017
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Inklings is a collection of poetry written by Don Gutteridge. It’s divided into three sections. Part One: What Was is centred around his memories of Point Edward, Ontario, a small town bordered by the St. Clair River and Lake Huron and lined by the Blue Water Bridge that played so big a part in his life and imagination as a child. His opening poem, First Impression, presents a succession of images of river, lake, lilacs and maples that transports the reader to that seminal moment in time where the poet’s initial impression of the world was formed. The poems celebrating his early life in that small town are filled with images of boys and girls growing up together, chasing each other and the sun as they pass milestones and approach young adulthood, shimmering in the sunlight. The poet’s musings on his grandfather’s service in the trenches and fields of Flanders is richly imagined in Alive: For My Grandfather: In Memoriam. There’s the excitement engendered by the sound of fire sirens and the rush of the fire trucks in Blaze: For the Point Edward volunteer firefighters. The image of the boys pedaling furiously in instant response to the siren as they “trailed the roaring red/engine with big-muscled/men clinging on/like bos’uns on the rigging” adds to the immediacy and larger-than-life heroism of the fire-fighters. Their disappointment at finding no blaze and conflagration at their journey’s end prompted memories of my own mad chasing after fire trucks as a child.
Part Two: What Now contains a celebration of family and friends, some departed, as in Nine Years: For Potsy: In Memoriam where Gutteridge recounts the “amber/afternoons we spent/on fairways and greens...summers at Cameron Lake” spent with a deceased friend. First Steps: For Tom captures the unforgettable moment of courage, shared triumph and delight as the poet’s grandson takes his first step, smiles up at him and totters into his arms. In Allure: Guelph 1960: For Anne, the contrasting visual images of the open-roofed VW, Anne’s lemon yellow dress glowing in the sun, red hair floating in the breeze and sky blue eyes as she rolls up to where he’s waiting paints the scene vividly and indelibly in the reader’s mind. In Puck: For Jeff, the poet paints the picture of a beloved son-in-law, a prankster with impish grin, a jack-in-the-pulpit, characterized by images of Shakespeare’s Puck and the sound of Falstaff’s hearty laughter which mingle in a man who “swallow(s) the world in one/gulp.”
Part Three is entitled Whatever, but hidden in that non-committal word is the title poem and an intensive look at the poetic spark underlying Gutteridge’s work. His title work describes the genesis of a poem as “a tingle/in the brain, a sprout abruptly/unbudded, the beginning/of a word or more precisely/its first singing syllable,/enticed towards a phrase,/and then by some urge/to say the unsayable,/the nub of a poem just/begun, and compelled/with a single-minded surge/to completion.” There is much of the divine in the inspiration shared as the “first fragile/filament of phrase casts/its shadow, silhouettes,/engages, and begets itself.” as described in the poem entitled Filament.
I’ve read and reviewed other volumes of Don Gutteridge’s poetry, and as with those, I found myself blissfully swept up in the poet’s tales of youthful adventures and his memories of Point Edward. His poetry sings. The implicit rhythm of his words, the images, colors, depictions of motion, sound-sense pairings, all working together smoothly and fluidly, seemingly defying the poet’s declaration of inklings that spring of themselves, that urge themselves out onto the page, words that “purr or rage” written of themselves. Such seeming contradiction is just a part of the magic to be found within Gutteridge’s poetry. Inklings is astonishingly good, each page a surprise and a delight to be discovered; each inkling a new journey to embark upon. It’s most highly recommended.
Inklings is a collection of poetry written by Don Gutteridge. It’s divided into three sections. Part One: What Was is centred around his memories of Point Edward, Ontario, a small town bordered by the St. Clair River and Lake Huron and lined by the Blue Water Bridge that played so big a part in his life and imagination as a child. His opening poem, First Impression, presents a succession of images of river, lake, lilacs and maples that transports the reader to that seminal moment in time where the poet’s initial impression of the world was formed. The poems celebrating his early life in that small town are filled with images of boys and girls growing up together, chasing each other and the sun as they pass milestones and approach young adulthood, shimmering in the sunlight. The poet’s musings on his grandfather’s service in the trenches and fields of Flanders is richly imagined in Alive: For My Grandfather: In Memoriam. There’s the excitement engendered by the sound of fire sirens and the rush of the fire trucks in Blaze: For the Point Edward volunteer firefighters. The image of the boys pedaling furiously in instant response to the siren as they “trailed the roaring red/engine with big-muscled/men clinging on/like bos’uns on the rigging” adds to the immediacy and larger-than-life heroism of the fire-fighters. Their disappointment at finding no blaze and conflagration at their journey’s end prompted memories of my own mad chasing after fire trucks as a child.
Part Two: What Now contains a celebration of family and friends, some departed, as in Nine Years: For Potsy: In Memoriam where Gutteridge recounts the “amber/afternoons we spent/on fairways and greens...summers at Cameron Lake” spent with a deceased friend. First Steps: For Tom captures the unforgettable moment of courage, shared triumph and delight as the poet’s grandson takes his first step, smiles up at him and totters into his arms. In Allure: Guelph 1960: For Anne, the contrasting visual images of the open-roofed VW, Anne’s lemon yellow dress glowing in the sun, red hair floating in the breeze and sky blue eyes as she rolls up to where he’s waiting paints the scene vividly and indelibly in the reader’s mind. In Puck: For Jeff, the poet paints the picture of a beloved son-in-law, a prankster with impish grin, a jack-in-the-pulpit, characterized by images of Shakespeare’s Puck and the sound of Falstaff’s hearty laughter which mingle in a man who “swallow(s) the world in one/gulp.”
Part Three is entitled Whatever, but hidden in that non-committal word is the title poem and an intensive look at the poetic spark underlying Gutteridge’s work. His title work describes the genesis of a poem as “a tingle/in the brain, a sprout abruptly/unbudded, the beginning/of a word or more precisely/its first singing syllable,/enticed towards a phrase,/and then by some urge/to say the unsayable,/the nub of a poem just/begun, and compelled/with a single-minded surge/to completion.” There is much of the divine in the inspiration shared as the “first fragile/filament of phrase casts/its shadow, silhouettes,/engages, and begets itself.” as described in the poem entitled Filament.
I’ve read and reviewed other volumes of Don Gutteridge’s poetry, and as with those, I found myself blissfully swept up in the poet’s tales of youthful adventures and his memories of Point Edward. His poetry sings. The implicit rhythm of his words, the images, colors, depictions of motion, sound-sense pairings, all working together smoothly and fluidly, seemingly defying the poet’s declaration of inklings that spring of themselves, that urge themselves out onto the page, words that “purr or rage” written of themselves. Such seeming contradiction is just a part of the magic to be found within Gutteridge’s poetry. Inklings is astonishingly good, each page a surprise and a delight to be discovered; each inkling a new journey to embark upon. It’s most highly recommended.
September 4, 2017
The first striking thing to note about Inklings: Poems of the Point and Beyond is the depth of its images, which pull readers into each succinct poem like a snapshot captures the eye with colourful immediacy: "When the harnessed heads of the/Clydes shook, music/tingled the star-startled/night above, and whiskered/hooves sped along the back-/country roads like Pegasus/preparing for flight…"
Readers can see, feel, smell, and taste the scenes being observed, be it the "ear-curdling cry" of one Mrs. Bradley, who transmits her rage at being trapped in an elderly body to the entire village, or the photo of a beloved Gran who looks pensively into the distance on a Sunday morning, "while the Sundayjello cools on the veranda behind her", perhaps reflecting on how she came to be in this place and time, while a grandson looking at this portrait feels the transmission of all that is left unsaid: "I'm left/wondering what courage it took/to abandon your home and say/hello to a far country…".
As the collection evolves, it becomes clear that the "inklings" being described are the remnants of family and their physical and emotional legacies to the next generation and beyond. And what is an 'inkling'? Even this definition uses powerful poetic imagery: "An inkling is a tingle/in the brain, a sprout abruptly/unbudded, the beginning/of a word or more precisely/its first singing syllable…"
These are the moments that define our lives past, present, and future. Like Kodachrome, they are snapshots of what was, is, and could be. As the camera captures the image in its seconds of glory before it fades or transforms, so Inklings captures those connections in life and family before they evolve into something different, bringing free verse poetry readers along for a ride through metaphor and experience.
Succinct in presentation (every word counts)and compelling in its choice of images and life portraits, Inkling's strong voice and propensity for building striking analogy and metaphorical reflections makes it a top recommendation for any free verse reader who wants their poetry filled with astute observation tempered with the reflective powers of a superior attention to atmosphere and detail.
Diane Donovan, senior reviewer, Midwest Books Rreviews
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Readers can see, feel, smell, and taste the scenes being observed, be it the "ear-curdling cry" of one Mrs. Bradley, who transmits her rage at being trapped in an elderly body to the entire village, or the photo of a beloved Gran who looks pensively into the distance on a Sunday morning, "while the Sundayjello cools on the veranda behind her", perhaps reflecting on how she came to be in this place and time, while a grandson looking at this portrait feels the transmission of all that is left unsaid: "I'm left/wondering what courage it took/to abandon your home and say/hello to a far country…".
As the collection evolves, it becomes clear that the "inklings" being described are the remnants of family and their physical and emotional legacies to the next generation and beyond. And what is an 'inkling'? Even this definition uses powerful poetic imagery: "An inkling is a tingle/in the brain, a sprout abruptly/unbudded, the beginning/of a word or more precisely/its first singing syllable…"
These are the moments that define our lives past, present, and future. Like Kodachrome, they are snapshots of what was, is, and could be. As the camera captures the image in its seconds of glory before it fades or transforms, so Inklings captures those connections in life and family before they evolve into something different, bringing free verse poetry readers along for a ride through metaphor and experience.
Succinct in presentation (every word counts)and compelling in its choice of images and life portraits, Inkling's strong voice and propensity for building striking analogy and metaphorical reflections makes it a top recommendation for any free verse reader who wants their poetry filled with astute observation tempered with the reflective powers of a superior attention to atmosphere and detail.
Diane Donovan, senior reviewer, Midwest Books Rreviews
12:40 PM (0 minutes ago)
to Diane
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Thanks
Click here to Reply or Forward
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Last account activity: 28 minutes ago
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October 13, 2017
The first striking thing to note about Inklings: Poems of the Point and Beyond is the depth of its images, which pull readers into each succinct poem like a snapshot captures the eye with colourful immediacy: "When the harnessed heads of the/Clydes shook, music/tingled the star-startled/night above, and whiskered/hooves sped along the back-/country roads like Pegasus/preparing for flight…"
Readers can see, feel, smell, and taste the scenes being observed, be it the "ear-curdling cry" of one Mrs. Bradley, who transmits her rage at being trapped in an elderly body to the entire village, or the photo of a beloved Gran who looks pensively into the distance on a Sunday morning, "while the Sunday jello cools on the veranda behind her", perhaps reflecting on how she came to be in this place and time, while a grandson looking at this portrait feels the transmission of all that is left unsaid: "I'm left/wondering what courage it took/to abandon your home and say/hello to a far country…".
As the collection evolves, it becomes clear that the "inklings" being described are the remnants of family and their physical and emotional legacies to the next generation and beyond. And what is an 'inkling'? Even this definition uses powerful poetic imagery: "An inkling is a tingle/in the brain, a sprout abruptly/unbudded, the beginning/of a word or more precisely/its first singing syllable…"
These are the moments that define our lives past, present, and future. Like Kodachrome, they are snapshots of what was, is, and could be. As the camera captures the image in its seconds of glory before it fades or transforms, so Inklings captures those connections in life and family before they evolve into something different, bringing free verse poetry readers along for a ride through metaphor and experience.
Succinct in presentation (every word counts) and compelling in its choice of images and life portraits, Inkling's strong voice and propensity for building striking analogy and metaphorical reflections makes it a top recommendation for any free verse reader who wants their poetry filled with astute observation tempered with the reflective powers of a superior attention to atmosphere and detail.
Readers can see, feel, smell, and taste the scenes being observed, be it the "ear-curdling cry" of one Mrs. Bradley, who transmits her rage at being trapped in an elderly body to the entire village, or the photo of a beloved Gran who looks pensively into the distance on a Sunday morning, "while the Sunday jello cools on the veranda behind her", perhaps reflecting on how she came to be in this place and time, while a grandson looking at this portrait feels the transmission of all that is left unsaid: "I'm left/wondering what courage it took/to abandon your home and say/hello to a far country…".
As the collection evolves, it becomes clear that the "inklings" being described are the remnants of family and their physical and emotional legacies to the next generation and beyond. And what is an 'inkling'? Even this definition uses powerful poetic imagery: "An inkling is a tingle/in the brain, a sprout abruptly/unbudded, the beginning/of a word or more precisely/its first singing syllable…"
These are the moments that define our lives past, present, and future. Like Kodachrome, they are snapshots of what was, is, and could be. As the camera captures the image in its seconds of glory before it fades or transforms, so Inklings captures those connections in life and family before they evolve into something different, bringing free verse poetry readers along for a ride through metaphor and experience.
Succinct in presentation (every word counts) and compelling in its choice of images and life portraits, Inkling's strong voice and propensity for building striking analogy and metaphorical reflections makes it a top recommendation for any free verse reader who wants their poetry filled with astute observation tempered with the reflective powers of a superior attention to atmosphere and detail.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews