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COLD FIRE
Cold Fire is a 64-page collection of poems by Donna Allard, International Beat Poet Laureate, from New Brunswick, Canada. These are "Peoples Poetry" poems that will warm their way into your heart, an enjoyable experience for readers of all levels.
EXCERPT:
women can die gently
dedicated to my late sister Victorine
she escapes
the moon’s sudden monthly death
the sun’s fiery obsession
she escapes
the poets’ passionate indigo blots
the terror of reality
the intimacy of history
she escapes
the hand of perception
the twisted umbilical cord of rebirth
she escapes
necessity and dies gently
into thought
EXCERPT:
women can die gently
dedicated to my late sister Victorine
she escapes
the moon’s sudden monthly death
the sun’s fiery obsession
she escapes
the poets’ passionate indigo blots
the terror of reality
the intimacy of history
she escapes
the hand of perception
the twisted umbilical cord of rebirth
she escapes
necessity and dies gently
into thought
62 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2019
1 person is currently reading
About the author
Donna Allard
14 books9 followersInternational beat Poet laureate 2019-2020
Founder Canadian Beat Scene 2018
Richibucto NB Canada
Founder Canadian Beat Scene 2018
Richibucto NB Canada
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 9, 2019
Cold Fire: selected poetry by International Beat Poet Laureate Donna Allard left me speechless. So much so I had to return to her earlier work (as well as her two other new books) before I could comment.
Although I have only read four out of her five poetry books, this collection (set mainly in rural and natural landscapes) was indeed the strongest but also the most complex and the most painful to read in terms of her subject matter. Leaves and humans are often interchangeable, but it is the changing seasons of autumn and winter (death, loss, grief, and coping strategies) that seem to preoccupy this collection of 51 poems.
Jinn Bug’s photograph “Cold Fire” (depicting a red leaf edged in ice in front of a wintery white background) proved to be a wise choice for the cover. It’s simply stunning and it pulled me into the book.
Red (which is often the symbol of love and the heart) is also the colour of blood, violence, and pain, which is mentioned in several of her poems. In the poem “rails & wind” she wrote: “the rails screamed like swords in battle” and later “leaving me detached;/a lonely leaf in the arctic wind.”
Even the leaf’s tear-shape was symbolic of both the falling rain and the tears shed within the book. In the poem “rain” she penned “the raindrops pound/like lead balloons” and in the poem “no tears”, she wrote “i pray for sunnier days--/ones that shed no tears.”
Even the oxymoronic and ambiguous “Cold Fire” title reminded me of ashes, the lighting and snuffing out of a light, the fiery sting and numbness of ice plus ruminations over a long cold and depressing winter.
This collection is definitely her grittiest! It included the odd profanity and took more risks in terms of style and depth and range of emotion. One of her great lines from the poem “strolling the blues” was “I am/deep in thought/like an ice cube/half-dissolved in whiskey/the still high sun/cracking ice.”
Plus how does one react to the rant “Sweet Reflections” where she stated “I can’t say if you taste sour in my mouth or sweet,/only that the snake in my eyes is a little green worm,/easily squished between forefinger and thumb.”?
To add balance to the book, she softened some of the darker images with more beautiful lines like those found in the poem “creamsicle”; where “the sunset was delicious/like a creamsicle”. I could feel myself melting and falling in love with that four line poem.
I also liked how Allard experimented with e e cumming’s trademark style of using lower case spelling including the lower case ‘i’ for “I’. However, it was distracting when the style sometimes changed within the same poem or when the titles in the Table of Contents differed from those on the actual poems. Perhaps it was intended to show the distraught feelings of the poem’s narrator or perhaps it was a case of auto-correct as even my computer wanted me to use the upper case “I” in this review. Some punctuation was also inconsistent and it frustrated me when some of her first lines echoed and repeated the same words as in the title.
Allard is also known for writing accessible work and yet a few of her poems like “understanding your winter” felt more abstract in thought despite her use of simple language. I liked that she tried new ways of writing, some more successful than others. And without adding any spoilers, her last poem “fire within” felt out of place. I wanted to see it buried within the collection.
Instead, I was so impressed by her second last poem “war dance” that I would have preferred the collection to end there, leaving me with her powerful lines “i feel nothing and then i dance/like a leaf, i dance-dance-dance”.
As Allard wrote in the poem “shoot the pen not the poet”, “This ink is my bloodline”. In this book, Allard had indeed spilled her blood into her writing and it is her unique insight and perspective that made this such an interesting and layered read. Every time I re-read it, I saw something new like the motifs of owls, herons, and eagles slipping in and out of sight. A people’s poet to watch!
Although I have only read four out of her five poetry books, this collection (set mainly in rural and natural landscapes) was indeed the strongest but also the most complex and the most painful to read in terms of her subject matter. Leaves and humans are often interchangeable, but it is the changing seasons of autumn and winter (death, loss, grief, and coping strategies) that seem to preoccupy this collection of 51 poems.
Jinn Bug’s photograph “Cold Fire” (depicting a red leaf edged in ice in front of a wintery white background) proved to be a wise choice for the cover. It’s simply stunning and it pulled me into the book.
Red (which is often the symbol of love and the heart) is also the colour of blood, violence, and pain, which is mentioned in several of her poems. In the poem “rails & wind” she wrote: “the rails screamed like swords in battle” and later “leaving me detached;/a lonely leaf in the arctic wind.”
Even the leaf’s tear-shape was symbolic of both the falling rain and the tears shed within the book. In the poem “rain” she penned “the raindrops pound/like lead balloons” and in the poem “no tears”, she wrote “i pray for sunnier days--/ones that shed no tears.”
Even the oxymoronic and ambiguous “Cold Fire” title reminded me of ashes, the lighting and snuffing out of a light, the fiery sting and numbness of ice plus ruminations over a long cold and depressing winter.
This collection is definitely her grittiest! It included the odd profanity and took more risks in terms of style and depth and range of emotion. One of her great lines from the poem “strolling the blues” was “I am/deep in thought/like an ice cube/half-dissolved in whiskey/the still high sun/cracking ice.”
Plus how does one react to the rant “Sweet Reflections” where she stated “I can’t say if you taste sour in my mouth or sweet,/only that the snake in my eyes is a little green worm,/easily squished between forefinger and thumb.”?
To add balance to the book, she softened some of the darker images with more beautiful lines like those found in the poem “creamsicle”; where “the sunset was delicious/like a creamsicle”. I could feel myself melting and falling in love with that four line poem.
I also liked how Allard experimented with e e cumming’s trademark style of using lower case spelling including the lower case ‘i’ for “I’. However, it was distracting when the style sometimes changed within the same poem or when the titles in the Table of Contents differed from those on the actual poems. Perhaps it was intended to show the distraught feelings of the poem’s narrator or perhaps it was a case of auto-correct as even my computer wanted me to use the upper case “I” in this review. Some punctuation was also inconsistent and it frustrated me when some of her first lines echoed and repeated the same words as in the title.
Allard is also known for writing accessible work and yet a few of her poems like “understanding your winter” felt more abstract in thought despite her use of simple language. I liked that she tried new ways of writing, some more successful than others. And without adding any spoilers, her last poem “fire within” felt out of place. I wanted to see it buried within the collection.
Instead, I was so impressed by her second last poem “war dance” that I would have preferred the collection to end there, leaving me with her powerful lines “i feel nothing and then i dance/like a leaf, i dance-dance-dance”.
As Allard wrote in the poem “shoot the pen not the poet”, “This ink is my bloodline”. In this book, Allard had indeed spilled her blood into her writing and it is her unique insight and perspective that made this such an interesting and layered read. Every time I re-read it, I saw something new like the motifs of owls, herons, and eagles slipping in and out of sight. A people’s poet to watch!
November 15, 2019
Nov. 12, 2019
A Review of Cold Fire, a book of selected poetry by Donna Allard
Good poetry, with an economy of carefully selected words arranged to best convey the message, has the power to move us beyond mere written expression; it possesses the ability to awaken our senses and to stir our hearts and minds. Within this framework, the poet Donna Allard, authentically, sincerely and boldly speaks to the gamut of her life’s experiences. No holds barred!
Her thoughtfully presented themes are moving and sometimes profoundly challenging, providing the reader with an experience that can be surprisingly poignant and enriching. And justly so, as Allard’s considerable poetic acumen has recently been honoured internationally with the title of Beat Poet Laureate, Canada.
Cold Fire, the aptly chosen title of this selection of poetry, speaks to the broad range of human emotions. The full polarity of life’s ups and downs are addressed head on, courageously. Poetically, Allard’s words portray, sing and dance her passion for life, her relationships with those near, those off in distant lands, and those who have passed. Her life’s tapestry almost always incorporates a number of nature’s creatures, its rhythmic cycles, all unfolding within the haunting presence of place. Place is important to Allard; it is where we send down roots and hers are deeply coastal, enough so as to breathe the salty air through her verse. Place in Allard’s world sets the scene for the unfolding of all the busyness of life and living.
Below are some treasured lines gleaned from a few poems:
i will address all seasons in turn
and summer the memories
…
and all i can do is run
trying to catch the wind
…
i gather leaves
we once said we would pick
to complete the album
of your life
…
I behold the constant depth
of heart and soul pounding
a well-weathered drum
And do allow yourself to be first drawn in by the striking book cover photo of a lone crimson red leaf dangling delicately from an ice-covered branch (a Jinn Bug photograph), an undeniable Cold Fire image. Then turn back the cover and venture inside so the journey can begin. This is a book to be savoured and enjoyed, over and over again. Cold Fire holds its place on my bookshelf.
Review by Maggie McLaughlin
Author, A Healing Gift, Cognitive Energy Healing
A Review of Cold Fire, a book of selected poetry by Donna Allard
Good poetry, with an economy of carefully selected words arranged to best convey the message, has the power to move us beyond mere written expression; it possesses the ability to awaken our senses and to stir our hearts and minds. Within this framework, the poet Donna Allard, authentically, sincerely and boldly speaks to the gamut of her life’s experiences. No holds barred!
Her thoughtfully presented themes are moving and sometimes profoundly challenging, providing the reader with an experience that can be surprisingly poignant and enriching. And justly so, as Allard’s considerable poetic acumen has recently been honoured internationally with the title of Beat Poet Laureate, Canada.
Cold Fire, the aptly chosen title of this selection of poetry, speaks to the broad range of human emotions. The full polarity of life’s ups and downs are addressed head on, courageously. Poetically, Allard’s words portray, sing and dance her passion for life, her relationships with those near, those off in distant lands, and those who have passed. Her life’s tapestry almost always incorporates a number of nature’s creatures, its rhythmic cycles, all unfolding within the haunting presence of place. Place is important to Allard; it is where we send down roots and hers are deeply coastal, enough so as to breathe the salty air through her verse. Place in Allard’s world sets the scene for the unfolding of all the busyness of life and living.
Below are some treasured lines gleaned from a few poems:
i will address all seasons in turn
and summer the memories
…
and all i can do is run
trying to catch the wind
…
i gather leaves
we once said we would pick
to complete the album
of your life
…
I behold the constant depth
of heart and soul pounding
a well-weathered drum
And do allow yourself to be first drawn in by the striking book cover photo of a lone crimson red leaf dangling delicately from an ice-covered branch (a Jinn Bug photograph), an undeniable Cold Fire image. Then turn back the cover and venture inside so the journey can begin. This is a book to be savoured and enjoyed, over and over again. Cold Fire holds its place on my bookshelf.
Review by Maggie McLaughlin
Author, A Healing Gift, Cognitive Energy Healing
October 30, 2019
How does one unfamiliar with the world of poetry rate a collection of poems? On accessibility, for me anyway. The poems in Cold Fire are all accessible in one way or another. There are several I particularly liked. Donna Allard's style may be the standard by which I will judge other beat poetry.
Donna assured me: "I write in the people's poet format... so it is easy to read, and easy to read between the lines." That sounded easy enough, so I obtained from her a copy of Cold Fire: Selected Poetry (2019 Sky Wing Press). I was impressed right away by the cover photo (by Jinn Bug) of a lone red leaf with ice along its edges. It would prove to be evocative of many of the fifty-one poems in this slim volume, including "red leaf" (which is dedicated to Jinn):
you are not
forgotten
you are cherished
like a leaf
within the pages
of my heart
Many of the poems deal with death: the loss of a loved one and the emptiness that death leaves the survivor with. Some, like "the essential other" are set in a cemetery:
there are many sweet flowers
and many stones in this garden;
the taller ones named by its dead
a crown of thorns lay hidden
beneath freshly fallen fruit
during autumn's wind
the desire for grace is long gone,
the last rose of the season
shatters under a warm touch
Prophets' words are captive
slaves to otherworldly gods
on a still winter's night
the whisperings of imagination
succumb to frost
Then, seemingly out of the blue, Ms. Allard presents us with "shoot the pen not the poet" in which she angrily states:
This is who I am: a poet when I write but an uncivil
servant when I don't. This ink is my bloodline. I have
no other children, just this, so these pages are the
truth as I know it to be. The truth often lies.
Strong stuff! The poems in Cold Fire are full of great visuals too, my favourite line being: "I am deep in thought like an ice cube half-dissolved in whisky." (From "strolling the blues")
As she assured me, her poems are easy to read, but the fun lies in reading between the lines. For an initial foray into the vast world of contemporary beat poetry, I couldn't do better than Cold Fire.
Donna assured me: "I write in the people's poet format... so it is easy to read, and easy to read between the lines." That sounded easy enough, so I obtained from her a copy of Cold Fire: Selected Poetry (2019 Sky Wing Press). I was impressed right away by the cover photo (by Jinn Bug) of a lone red leaf with ice along its edges. It would prove to be evocative of many of the fifty-one poems in this slim volume, including "red leaf" (which is dedicated to Jinn):
you are not
forgotten
you are cherished
like a leaf
within the pages
of my heart
Many of the poems deal with death: the loss of a loved one and the emptiness that death leaves the survivor with. Some, like "the essential other" are set in a cemetery:
there are many sweet flowers
and many stones in this garden;
the taller ones named by its dead
a crown of thorns lay hidden
beneath freshly fallen fruit
during autumn's wind
the desire for grace is long gone,
the last rose of the season
shatters under a warm touch
Prophets' words are captive
slaves to otherworldly gods
on a still winter's night
the whisperings of imagination
succumb to frost
Then, seemingly out of the blue, Ms. Allard presents us with "shoot the pen not the poet" in which she angrily states:
This is who I am: a poet when I write but an uncivil
servant when I don't. This ink is my bloodline. I have
no other children, just this, so these pages are the
truth as I know it to be. The truth often lies.
Strong stuff! The poems in Cold Fire are full of great visuals too, my favourite line being: "I am deep in thought like an ice cube half-dissolved in whisky." (From "strolling the blues")
As she assured me, her poems are easy to read, but the fun lies in reading between the lines. For an initial foray into the vast world of contemporary beat poetry, I couldn't do better than Cold Fire.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews