Happinesswise: Poems

by Jonathan Bennett

“Bennett’s artistry lies in his ability to create poems that shatter complacency with bricks of loaded language.” — Quill & Quire on Civil and Civic

“How are you doing, happinesswise?” This is the unifying thread, the casual-sounding but slant and penetrating question posed by these poems as they interrogate what we tell ourselves about happiness, about its opposite, and about ourselves in the process.

Happinesswise is both cacophony and chorus: it’s the voices of palliative patients and physicians, and the place where the dream state of a young pregnant woman clashes with the online reality of daily life. It’s personal too: a suite explores a five-year period of Bennett’s autistic son’s childhood, charting a journey of love and misunderstandings, of anxiety and celebration as the wonders of neurodiversity unfold.

There are elegies too. And confessional poems, like “On the Occasion of Her Swearing In,” where Bennett witnesses up close his friend’s remarkable transition from Afghan refugee and grassroots activist to member of parliament and cabinet minister. Other poems demarcate the gaps (literal and less so) found every day in rural Ontario, or consider personal, political, and cultural history within a series of loops and twists.

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2018

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always find it quite difficult to review poetry, as you can certainly misunderstand or misread the intention behind a collection quite easily. I found that with this poetry collection in particular that it at times came across as highly insightful and relateable, and then at other times, I was unsure how to interpret them. The suite that explores the author's autistic son's childhood was especially moving, as it was honest and open, full of an understanding that many people cannot grasp.

There is one particular two stanzas that resonated with me the most, and I think we all can agree here: "We all need to be truly / present for loved at the end of life. It's a gift to be here." I actually paused when reading this ending of the "Patient No. 3" poem. It moved me, because it expressed something so fundamentally human, and in a way that I felt myself when I lost, but had never expressed in such a perfect way.

In my opinion, this collection speaks to the process of happiness that is anything but simple or even easily attainable, if it can really be attained at all. If anything, it is an ebb and flow throughout the course of life, shaping us and shaped by us. Either way, whether I understood the poems fully or not, I was impacted, and isn't that the point?

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading through the beginning of this anthology, I felt myself relating to the content in a profound way, but then I began to find myself lost. It is unclear to me whether the authors intention was to create a metaphor for life by switching direction so rapidly or whether this is just his usual style. I will say that his work did evoke many emotions resembling one's roller coaster ride through life.

Unfortunately, happinesswise, I feel a 3 star rating is all I can muster.

Thank you ECW Press for providing me with a review copy. Greatly appreciated as always!

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really quite enjoyed the poetry sections dealing with hospitalised patients and the author's son. However, the rest I found not particularly memorable. Also a bit confused as to how it all fit the supposed theme... On a whole, glad I read these, but probably not going out of my way to find more of Bennett's work as it doesn't speak to me in the way that I personally really enjoy. (It's me, not you, my friend :))

[Nathaniel Darkish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the poet definitely possesses a skill for capturing a scene, the subjects and themes explored in this collection largely failed to capture my interest.

[somerventures · Rating 2 out of 5]

really liked the first bit. esp the narrative style and the pace with the changes in perspective. not sure why it changed after the first twenty pages. most unenjoyable after the shift.