The Witness Ghost

by Tim Bowling

The Witness Ghost is Tim Bowling's most unified collection of poems since his widely praised debut, Low Water Slack (Nightwood, 1995). Here, in an extended sequence of powerful elegies, he traces his feelings of loss, bewilderment and anger at the death of his father, a man who spent his working life as a salmon fisherman on British Columbia's majestic Fraser River. Borne back into a past of old wharves, boats, nets and ripening blackberries, the poet enters into the lush west coast riverscape in an attempt to recapture Heck Bowling's lingering spirit in all the complex human tangles of sorrow, joy, weariness and reverence. In his characteristic style of direct emotional statement mixed with startling imagery and metaphor, Bowling has written one of the most intense and loving statements to fatherhood in Canadian poetry, while at the same time extending his rapt immersion in the west coast's mythic history and beauty.

Genres: Poetry, Canada

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book of poetry I ever bought, almost arbitrarily chosen off a bookshelf in a somerville used book store. It was a good choice, though, really beautiful and moving, the poems in this book chronicle the author coping with his beloved father's death, from nostalgic memory, to the loss itself, all the way to hearing his fathers footsteps returning in the belly of his pregnant wife. Really beautiful, strong stuff, but can get hard to read if you don't want to think about your own fathers mortality.

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another gem from another Canadian poet! I am in awe of the poets inour country, they never cease to inspire and amaze me with their words. The Witness Ghost is a beautiful tribute to the poet's father. There are too many beautiful lines for me to pick just one to share so if you are at all interested in poetry you will be pleased with this collection. I got this one out of the library and now I need a copy for my own shelf.

[Mike Brown]

Beautiful!! Very visual, painting images with each line.