77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin

by Thomas King

Timely, important, mischievous, in a word, exceptional

Seventy-seven poems intended as a eulogy for what we have squandered, a reprimand for all we have allowed, a suggestion for what might still be salvaged, a poetic quarrel with our intolerant and greedy selves, a reflection on mortality and longing, as well as a long-running conversation with the mythological currents that flow throughout North America.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous, Canada, Nonfiction, Social Commentary, Cultural

90 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

Thomas King was born in 1943 in Sacramento, California and is of Greek and German descent. He obtained his PhD from the University of Utah in 1986. He is known for works in which he addresses the marginalization of American Indians, delineates "pan-Indian" concerns and histories, and attempts to abolish common stereotypes about Native Americans. He taught Native American Studies at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, and at the University of Minnesota. He is currently a Professor of English at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. King has become one of the foremost writers of fiction about Canada's Native people.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aug 28, 1020am ~~ Yet another WOW. Review asap: I have a pile of them to write, hopefully all today!

8pm ~~ This 2019 book is Thomas King's first collection of poetry. The book looks so sweet and innocent: not many pages, not very thick, and many of the poems are just a few short verses.

But if there is one thing I have learned about Thomas King during my project to read his work this year, it is that there is much more in what he writes than you see at first. Layers, subtle meanings that you miss if you don't read with all of your eyes. He's very good at such things.

I apologize for quoting from the front flap of the book, but I cannot improve on the thought:
"Seventy-seven poems intended as a eulogy for what we have squandered, a reprimand for all we have allowed, a suggestion for what might still be salvaged. It is a poetic quarrel with our intolerant selves, a reflection on mortality and longing, as well as a long-running conversation with the mythological currents that flow through North America."

Don't let that 'seventy-seven' intimidate you. It only seems like a lot of poems. You will get to the end and go back to start over even if you had already followed the instructions given in Fragment 45:

Go back
 and read the first
 forty-four fragments
 again.

I'll wait.

My first time through, I did that. Then I got to the end and went back to page one. I even followed the instructions again, so I have read this four times now and I know that fourth time will not be my last.

Fragment 18 is one of my favorites:

At the powwow,
 the women stand behind the drum
 and sing.

These are no ordinary women,
 no ordinary voices.
Mountains move.
Tides retreat.
Stars fall.

You've been warned.

Stand away and let them pass.
Stand away and let them pass.

I wish everyone could and would read this collection.

And all the rest of Thomas King's books too!

(Note: Apologies to Mr. King for not formatting his poems with the proper indentations as in the book. I tried, but GR slides all indented lines back to the margin and if there is a way to stop that, I don't know what it is. Yet another injustice in the world: not being able to display a poet's work the way he intended it to be seen. Sigh.)

Aug 29
(Another Note ~~ Thank you Richard for explaining how I can indent! Injustice defeated! Yay!!)

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be prepared to have to stop in awe.

[ianridewood is on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads more like a single, uniquely-structured story than fragments of poetry. I would get less from them if I thought them separate.

[Celise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest poetry person, but I found this thought-provoking. Partway through the book, the author will tell you to go back to the beginning and reread all the "fragments" up to that point again. I got a lot out of doing just that.

[Novelesque Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

RATING: 4.5 STARS
2019; HarperCollins Publisher/HarperCollins Canada
(Review Not on Blog)

A beautiful haunting raw heartbreaking collection of poetry from the brilliant Thomas King. There is so much emotion and history behind each word. I highly recommend this book!

***I received an eARC from EDELWEISS***

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Thomas King experience.

I probably should have read one of his novels first because I had a hard time knowing if I was really understanding the tone. It felt like an older gentleman poking me in the ribs after telling an older gentleman joke. "Eh? Get it? Eh?"

Still I kept going. I even followed his instructions on the 45th and 46th fragments:
45.
Go back
and read the first
forty-four fragments
again.
I'll wait.

46.
No, really,
I'll wait.

So back I went and read them all over again, a little more slowly this time. Then I got back to 45/46 and wondered if I was supposed to read them all over again. And then I got freaked out that I would be in an endless loop of reading the first portion of this book over and over and over again. And then I realized I am a grown woman who can proceed on to 47 and beyond if I want to.

As I mentioned, I wasn't sure I was understanding the tone. And then this one walloped me on the backside.

Immigrant settlers and Indian land.
Railroads and highways and Indian land.
Resource extraction and Indian land.
Nuclear waste dumps and Indian land.
Hydroelectric and Indian land.
Pipelines and pipelines and Indian land.

Tell me again
what you don't understand.

Tell me again
what you don't understand.

Ah. There it is.

4 Stars

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023
Le cynisme de Thomas King me fait du bien.


2021
Thomas King a une bibliographie impressionnante mais j'ai choisi de commencer mon introduction à son style d'écriture avec ce recueil de poésie. 77 poèmes qui font aussi office de chronique d'humeur et de satire de la société, la politique et la colonisation. Le tout
avec un humour décapant.

"Personne ne peut me dire pourquoi
les produits frais sont emballés dans le plastique,
ni pourquoi une aspirine coûte plus cher
qu'une balle de fusil."

"Dans cet endroit,
les promesses sont des ecchymoses
dans de beaux habits."

[Paige Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

Read this at the store - Thomas King is usually a favourite for me and I love the through-lines in his works but I don’t think his prose on its own is necessarily for me. I did quite enjoy the different versions of Coyote’s conversation with the other animals depending on what themes were most prevalent in the poems around them, though.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Float me, float me on the water, in the pools at the turn of the tide. Let me drift with the winds in the margins and rest in the peace love provides ..."

"Attending the wedding in spite of everything I know about funerals."

"In this place, all promises are bruises in good suits."

[Blair Stretch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet collection with some amazing poems and some that I didn't love. Nice to hear King's voice in longer poetic form.

[Steph Percival · Rating 3 out of 5]

Together, these 77 poems read like the story of both our creation and our ruination.

[Magdelanye · Rating 5 out of 5]

These 77 fragments of various lengths and styles compose a poem of singular intensity.
Thomas King does poetry like he does the rest of his writing; with dignity, compassion and sly wit.

Set the running days in line,
tie down the wind.

Mark mountains out with minor tones,
dig up the stories,
paint the bones,
the snow is on the ground
3 p3


The thing about
the abyss
is that the view
doesn't improve
the closer you get
to the edge.
14 p16

Ring the bells that go cha-ching.
Discard your moral posturings.
Walmart discounts everything
That's how the blight begins.
15 p17

Tell me.
Tell me, who is left to hate?
Surely there is someone new,
someone missed
the first time through.

Tell me.
Shall we circle round
and bring our wicked selves to ground?
56 p66

Or are we but assassins by trade,
undeterred by natures grace,
content to let all kindness fall,
burn down the tower,
storm the garden wall.
53 p61


...knowing that memory is no more
than a series of well-told stories
told often....
30 p35

when no one is paying attention,
anything is possible.
38 p42

Turn the world over to musicians.
Brass and strings,
reeds and percussion,
choir optional.
16 p19

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King, and immediately knew I wanted to read more from him. This book superceded my already high expectations.

77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin is the most intricate, layered and breathtaking collection of poems I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The themes, the stories between the lines, and the ties that bind them together are so clever and well done that you can't help but be in awe. I'm speechless.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every other page in the copy I'm borrowing from the library is tabbed with a sticky because Thomas King does not mess around. I loved this short poetry book from him! He brought around themes and ideas I've seen in his other work, but he has extended many of these in his poetry and in a way that asks you to stop and think about what he is implying.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is some first-rate anger.

[Kireja · Rating 3 out of 5]

77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin is comprised of poems that range from the playful to the powerful. In his first poetry collection, King meditates on topics such as society, mythology, politics, and current events. Although not all of the poems packed a powerful punch, there were many hidden gems of wisdom. My favourite poems includes ones about the Trickster, Coyote, King's take on consumerism, social issues, politics and those in power, and Indigenous issues and rights.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this collection and read it slowly over time. It has a unique, fragmented structure - comes together the further you go. I recommend it. It was insightful, reflective, and, at times, challenging.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would number my favourites, but, as it is, it's all of them.

Each piece is something that you could appreciate singularly, yet at the same time the entire collection is a cohesive narrative that is worth following. And rereading.

Note to self: I would like to do an art piece specifically on number 14.

[Jacob Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, spartan, at times beautiful, and often funny; this collection has lines that hit like a truck.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is poetry fit for people who don't "get" poetry. The meanings of each poem are easy to pick up on (though it would definitely help to know a bit about the creation story of Turtle Island). King writes with a very distinct satirical voice that brings a smirk to your face when you realize how true each poem rings to its topics. Although this book is a good read for all ages, the topics can actually be quite dark, as the poems about colonialism, consumerism, religion, and where a marginalized character fits within this society are disturbingly true.

The poems are "fragments," each connected to others to make up several different narratives interwoven into one book. In particular I enjoyed the poems about Coyote and his friends. There's something so weirdly comforting about reading poetry that sounds like a children's story. But at the same time these childlike poems do not shy away from serious topics, which makes them compelling when you come to understand what they are really about.

The circular structure of the entire book was a pleasant mind-blow. Each "fragment" on its own serves its own argument about the eurocentric doctrine of our society and the way we learn about Canadian history. But together, they form a strong critique about the knowledge that has been lost, the voices that have been silenced, and the culture that has been pushed aside due to colonialism.

A strong, compelling read overall.

[Kier Scrivener · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All promises are brusises
In a good suit"

Thomas King's 2019 collection of poetry is concise, beautiful and emphatic. He uses the history and stories of Indigenous people of Turtle Island as brackets beginning with creation and ending with creation. Throughout he has familar characters appear to repeat and recontextualize their experiences and uses reverse storytelling in mirroring how 'Finding The New World' story is told from a Manifest Destiny view vs how it happened.

Throughout King employs both longer form stories and splashes of profound conciseness. Halfway through he askes the reader to reread what they just have to resee it. To take time. To be patient.

I look forward to owning it in the future and underlining and notetaking in the margins.

One of my favourites says 'he went to the wedding, knowing everything he knew about funerals' and I think that epitomizes the way King never holds his punches when also believing in joy and hope admidst the onslaught of destruction.

[Andrea McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a treat. Another book of poems that, as soon as I finished it, I opened to the first page and read straight through again.

There are stories that carry from poem to poem throughout: Adam and Eve (though changed), Turtle Island and Evening, Coyote and Raven. Funny, lovely, poignant, and pointed. If you enjoy poetry, you won't be disappointed.

[Luke Gorham · Rating 3 out of 5]

More mic-drop, punctuative poetry that boasts a clear perspective and (variegated) message, but demonstrating little formal strength. Sort of extra-textually fascinating to reconcile the author of The Inconvenient Indian with the far more fatalist/cynical text here.

[Jacob Alvarado · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Why tolerate such gods as these, / so stern and crucified with pain? / Why not a gentler touch demand? / A kinder world, / a peaceful earth / to hold us at a second birth."

[Christina Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas King, best known for his influential and iconic book about Indigenous history, “The Inconvenient Indian” and novels like “Green Grass, Running Water” and his “Dreadful Water” mystery series has published his first book of poetry, “77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin.” King, known for his sardonic wit and vivid storytelling brings his talent and his experience to this new collection. Each fragment provokes our understanding of ourselves in this modern and consumer-based society, incorporating mythical characters and animals, like Coyote and Raven, from King’s oft-told stories (hear “The Women Who Fell from the Sky” in King’s Massey Lectures - available on CBC archives and on iTunes). Political without being dogmatic, challenging behaviour and action, as in Fragment no. 34 which suggests an amnesia in the collective will of Canadian society to recognise and address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. This often thought provoking series is an excellent and enjoyable read.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raven votes for herself
and becomes Prime Minister.

How could this happen,
ask the animals.

It's easy, says Raven.
When no one is paying attention,
anything is possible.

This is a really stunning collection of 77 "fragments", which range from single lines to multi-page poems. There are two threads of fragments. One is a selection of pretty standard pieces that touch on topics like the American genocide and oppression of native Americans and the environmental impacts of capitalism. The other includes various narrative pieces about a group of animals that form a few different short stories relating to the topics of the other poems. I was really impressed with how well these two different types of fragments were woven together, as well as how beautiful and thoughtful the writing was. This is the type of collection that is worth rereading to catch all of the little details.

[Abbigail K · Rating 3 out of 5]

King is a very talented storyteller, and you can tell from his poetry that oral and narrative traditions influence his writing. The collection interestingly follows three main narratives told through poetry along with many different fragments that collectively reimagine Indigenous and Western creation stories. Much of the collection is a humourous critique of the histories of the Canadian state and how "story" enforces worldview and ways of being.

The poems vary in length, and I found myself drawn to Fragment 9 which is an intimate insight into King's childhood and the stories that have shaped him. I appreciated that the collection cycled back around to reference Fragment 9 later, focusing on the motif of the garden (of Eden). I think some of the poems resonated with me more than others (as any collection will), but I believe some fragments would have benefitted from more poetic devices/language and editing.

[StephanieNicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been interested in reading more poetry, and when I read a sample of this collection online, I knew I had to read this book. Even though King writes his poetry from the perspective of an indigenous American (and I am a white person living in America), I strongly connected with his poetry. While I might not fully understand the deeper meaning of the poems about the Woman Who Fell From the Sky and the Coyote and the Turtle, I did connect with his critiques on our current capitalist society's many flaws and its flawed relationship with nature. I loved King's writing style. I also appreciated that all the poems in this collection felt like they cohesively worked together to create a work greater than the sum of its parts. I highly recommend this collection. As a novice poetry reader, I felt like this was very accessible and easy to comprehend while still conveying complex ideas.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a bittersweet experience to enjoy this book, one which I would likely never have come across if it were not the gift of an old friend who is no longer a friend (long story, not entirely irrelevant to the issues in the collection), and with whom I would once have enjoyed discussing it.

Thomas King is an unfamiliar writer to me, but this is his first collection of poetry and it is a stonker. 77 fragments indeed, some a mere line or two, although many would stand alone, the structure of the collection is particularly satisfying, circling back to subjects and forms. It's one of those books that manages to challenge whilst still leaving you feeling confident of the hands you are in, and I don't think it requires an especial knowledge of issues around the treatment of First Nation Canadians (a major theme) to appreciate what King is saying.

I was especially tickled by the poem that asks you to read all the preceding poems again... and the poem on the next turn of the page.

[So_Unhip_Shan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this collection twice through in less than an hour. The beautiful thing about reading, is that in order to appreciate the words there is no requirement to agree with the author, philosophically, theologically, or politically.

Reading helps me to understand and empathize.

I wish more people did the same.

Thomas King has created a collection of thoughts on obvious observations about a society - a society in which we both live, and from which we both originate... both descendants of immigrants and indigenous people.

While we may agree on a few points, we also disagree on many, but I can appreciate the author's heart, and the humour and pain and other emotions with which he narrates what he has seen.