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Riven: Poems
Winner of the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry
In 2010, Catherine Owen's 29-year-old spouse died of a drug addiction. A year later, she relocated to an apartment by the Fraser River in Vancouver, B.C. As she moved beyond the initial shock, the river became her focus: a natural, damaged space that both intensifies emotion and symbolizes healing. In a sequence of aubades, or dawn poems, Owen records the practice of walking by or watching the river every morning, a routine that helps her engage in the tough work of mourning. Riven (a word that echoes river and means rift) is an homage to both a man and an ecosystem threatened by the presence of toxins and neglect. Yet, it is also a song to the beauty of nature and memory, concluding in a tribute to Louise Cotnoir's long poem The Islands with a piece on imagined rivers. While Designated Mourner honors grief, Riven focuses on modes of survival and transformation through looking outward, and beyond.
In 2010, Catherine Owen's 29-year-old spouse died of a drug addiction. A year later, she relocated to an apartment by the Fraser River in Vancouver, B.C. As she moved beyond the initial shock, the river became her focus: a natural, damaged space that both intensifies emotion and symbolizes healing. In a sequence of aubades, or dawn poems, Owen records the practice of walking by or watching the river every morning, a routine that helps her engage in the tough work of mourning. Riven (a word that echoes river and means rift) is an homage to both a man and an ecosystem threatened by the presence of toxins and neglect. Yet, it is also a song to the beauty of nature and memory, concluding in a tribute to Louise Cotnoir's long poem The Islands with a piece on imagined rivers. While Designated Mourner honors grief, Riven focuses on modes of survival and transformation through looking outward, and beyond.
- GenresPoetry
88 pages, Paperback
Published April 14, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 10, 2020
Riven is a collection of poetry by Catherine who is dealing with grief after the death of a loved one.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this to read.
Unfortunately this collection was not for me. This is in no way disrespectful to the author at all but I just couldn’t connect with the words. It also took me a very long time to get though.
I am a huge lover of poetry however, I’ve said it before and will continue to say it in the future, sometimes poetry can be either a hit or a miss.
I would recommended Riven to anyone who likes reading poems.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this to read.
Unfortunately this collection was not for me. This is in no way disrespectful to the author at all but I just couldn’t connect with the words. It also took me a very long time to get though.
I am a huge lover of poetry however, I’ve said it before and will continue to say it in the future, sometimes poetry can be either a hit or a miss.
I would recommended Riven to anyone who likes reading poems.
August 21, 2020
Ah, the omnipresent tugboat. Owen owns the metaphor, hauling booms of language beyond the scope of twin banks, to unwaveringly extract facets of grief, honing acutely intimate verse in rhythm with both the times and the mighty Fraser.
April 4, 2020
We have always been close to the river. Even in prehistory, mankind has always settled along the riverside. It’s there where the plants and trees are most lush, it’s where our food has always been most plentiful, and its waters have always been available for swift commute from community to community. Perhaps this is why we have always had an affinity to bodies of water. We have always been there.
The waters by which poet Catherine Owen has metaphysically settled are those of the Fraser River, which flows through the heart of Greater Vancouver where she was born and raised. Though currently based in Edmonton, Owen’s time within walking distance of the Fraser has given her immeasurable solace and wrought this book of poetry, which she has entitled “Riven”. As she says in “The River System”, the long poem on the last pages of the book:
“if I were only staring out
upon land, I would be
heartbroken...”
In "Riven" she considers with keen observational depth the lessons that a river can offer about the brevity of life, the eternity of love, the continuity of survival and the futility of death. With these rich descriptions, Owen brings you into the space that she occupied while on her morning stomps along the industrial rubble and eroded pebble at the water’s edge, using the river as a constant metaphor for life, death and their byproduct, which is memory.
In memory, her thoughts fall upon her deceased husband as she remains true to his legacy as her muse, the basis of much of her poetic thought. Much of her works has centered around that loss in previous works that she has made, but as Junot Diaz will tell you- “the half life of love is forever”, which is to say that love- even lost love- never fades. From the river, she considers the paradox of grieving in the collection’s first poem; “Thirty-Six Sentences on the Fraser River That Could Serve as a Very Small Nest”
“The river is like your death; it just keeps moving away from me.”
She notes that the river is water that constantly passes us by yet remains a constant presence, illustrating the paradox of both the river and of death.
She touches on even more paradoxes during her morning walks along the Fraser, documenting the industrial constructs that have been erected on the waterfront as well as the natural insistences that grow between and beneath them. She doesn’t differentiate the artificial from the natural. They all exist in the same environment, as she considers in the poem; “Beseech”
“Their origins, stone, perhaps, or song.”
Her most frequent imagery, and the one that brings us alongside as she would “prolong along the estuary” is that of the “silver river”, especially in the series of aubade poems, which serves as the centerpiece of the book. The imagery conjures up that magical phase of the early morning when the sun has just risen and the perspective of light gives the river a pristine metallic shine that cuts through any depression or dulling effect of the surroundings. As she says in “The Last Aubade”:
“…silver you could say as scars, as age,
Or ashes – silver as what holds everything this morning…”
Throughout the book’s conception, the shining quicksilver of the Fraser has lit Owen’s solitary mornings and cut through the miasma of her grieving. The river has also served well as a backdrop and starting point for her to create her ideas that form this beautiful tribute to the rivers that constantly flow through our lives as well as the beautiful man for which she grieves. Riven presents some of the most descriptive and incisive poetry that Catherine Owen has ever offered, derived from a place of deep contemplation and raw emotive power, a place not unlike the river that flows through all of us, through time, love and memory.
The waters by which poet Catherine Owen has metaphysically settled are those of the Fraser River, which flows through the heart of Greater Vancouver where she was born and raised. Though currently based in Edmonton, Owen’s time within walking distance of the Fraser has given her immeasurable solace and wrought this book of poetry, which she has entitled “Riven”. As she says in “The River System”, the long poem on the last pages of the book:
“if I were only staring out
upon land, I would be
heartbroken...”
In "Riven" she considers with keen observational depth the lessons that a river can offer about the brevity of life, the eternity of love, the continuity of survival and the futility of death. With these rich descriptions, Owen brings you into the space that she occupied while on her morning stomps along the industrial rubble and eroded pebble at the water’s edge, using the river as a constant metaphor for life, death and their byproduct, which is memory.
In memory, her thoughts fall upon her deceased husband as she remains true to his legacy as her muse, the basis of much of her poetic thought. Much of her works has centered around that loss in previous works that she has made, but as Junot Diaz will tell you- “the half life of love is forever”, which is to say that love- even lost love- never fades. From the river, she considers the paradox of grieving in the collection’s first poem; “Thirty-Six Sentences on the Fraser River That Could Serve as a Very Small Nest”
“The river is like your death; it just keeps moving away from me.”
She notes that the river is water that constantly passes us by yet remains a constant presence, illustrating the paradox of both the river and of death.
She touches on even more paradoxes during her morning walks along the Fraser, documenting the industrial constructs that have been erected on the waterfront as well as the natural insistences that grow between and beneath them. She doesn’t differentiate the artificial from the natural. They all exist in the same environment, as she considers in the poem; “Beseech”
“Their origins, stone, perhaps, or song.”
Her most frequent imagery, and the one that brings us alongside as she would “prolong along the estuary” is that of the “silver river”, especially in the series of aubade poems, which serves as the centerpiece of the book. The imagery conjures up that magical phase of the early morning when the sun has just risen and the perspective of light gives the river a pristine metallic shine that cuts through any depression or dulling effect of the surroundings. As she says in “The Last Aubade”:
“…silver you could say as scars, as age,
Or ashes – silver as what holds everything this morning…”
Throughout the book’s conception, the shining quicksilver of the Fraser has lit Owen’s solitary mornings and cut through the miasma of her grieving. The river has also served well as a backdrop and starting point for her to create her ideas that form this beautiful tribute to the rivers that constantly flow through our lives as well as the beautiful man for which she grieves. Riven presents some of the most descriptive and incisive poetry that Catherine Owen has ever offered, derived from a place of deep contemplation and raw emotive power, a place not unlike the river that flows through all of us, through time, love and memory.
April 27, 2020
“Grief I told you is always, but grieving — more often intermittent. “
Riven is a small collection of poetry by Catherine Owen that explores the process of grief by reflecting on nature.
It was a unique collection, and one that I read slowly because I wanted to take time to reflect on each poem. Many of them packed a lot of emotion and feelings into so few words, and rushing through each one wouldn’t give the writing any justice.
Riven is based on the author’s very personal experience of losing her spouse to a drug addiction. Afterwards, she moved to Vancouver, and spent a lot of time along the Fraser River. Her poems blend reflection on her grief with observations of the river, and its surrounding green space.
While reading, I found some of the poems to be centered more specifically on her individual feelings of loss, sadness, and love, where others focused more specifically on the physical environment around her. There were a few that blended elements of both, and they were beautiful. As I mentioned above, I read only one or two poems a day because I found myself re-reading certain lines and really letting them sink in.
The writing was truly beautiful, and I felt that the comparisons helped me, as a reader, feel the stages of grief and various emotions that the author was reflecting on. Yes, there were moments of sadness, but there were also moments of hope, and reflections on what the future would bring. There was a lot of strength in this collection, too.
I’ve seen a couple negative reviews of Riven, and while I don’t agree with them (I really enjoyed reading this collection), I can understand why it’s not for everyone. The writing is extremely personal, and if you can’t relate to the author’s experience, it may be difficult to understand and appreciate the writing for what it is.
If you’re looking for poems that deal with grief and loss, or poems with a strong environmental connection, I’d recommend this collection.
Thank you to the publisher, ECW Press, for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. Riven came out on April 14, 2020, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.
Riven is a small collection of poetry by Catherine Owen that explores the process of grief by reflecting on nature.
It was a unique collection, and one that I read slowly because I wanted to take time to reflect on each poem. Many of them packed a lot of emotion and feelings into so few words, and rushing through each one wouldn’t give the writing any justice.
Riven is based on the author’s very personal experience of losing her spouse to a drug addiction. Afterwards, she moved to Vancouver, and spent a lot of time along the Fraser River. Her poems blend reflection on her grief with observations of the river, and its surrounding green space.
While reading, I found some of the poems to be centered more specifically on her individual feelings of loss, sadness, and love, where others focused more specifically on the physical environment around her. There were a few that blended elements of both, and they were beautiful. As I mentioned above, I read only one or two poems a day because I found myself re-reading certain lines and really letting them sink in.
The writing was truly beautiful, and I felt that the comparisons helped me, as a reader, feel the stages of grief and various emotions that the author was reflecting on. Yes, there were moments of sadness, but there were also moments of hope, and reflections on what the future would bring. There was a lot of strength in this collection, too.
I’ve seen a couple negative reviews of Riven, and while I don’t agree with them (I really enjoyed reading this collection), I can understand why it’s not for everyone. The writing is extremely personal, and if you can’t relate to the author’s experience, it may be difficult to understand and appreciate the writing for what it is.
If you’re looking for poems that deal with grief and loss, or poems with a strong environmental connection, I’d recommend this collection.
Thank you to the publisher, ECW Press, for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. Riven came out on April 14, 2020, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.
July 8, 2020
Every morning I go to find you and every time bring something back--
once it was crows, or the light only on that part of the river
In Riven, Catherine Owen writes eloquently of the process of grief. Descriptions of the river and her grief over a lost spouse intertwine. In the opening poem, a series of thirty-six sentences, she writes,
4. The river is like your death; it just keeps moving away from me.
Riven rewards the careful reader with these brilliant flashes, like light rippling on a river's surface.
once it was crows, or the light only on that part of the river
In Riven, Catherine Owen writes eloquently of the process of grief. Descriptions of the river and her grief over a lost spouse intertwine. In the opening poem, a series of thirty-six sentences, she writes,
4. The river is like your death; it just keeps moving away from me.
Riven rewards the careful reader with these brilliant flashes, like light rippling on a river's surface.
March 19, 2020
Disclaimer - I was sent a free digital copy of this book by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Firstly, I’m not entirely sure if the format of the book has been altered because of the device I’ve accessed it on. But for me the formatting was very off putting and made it more difficult to appreciate what’s written and sometimes follow it.
Otherwise I think there’s a lot of promise in the poetry. I read a lot of poetry and feel like this book could be so much better if the above issue is addressed before publication.
Firstly, I’m not entirely sure if the format of the book has been altered because of the device I’ve accessed it on. But for me the formatting was very off putting and made it more difficult to appreciate what’s written and sometimes follow it.
Otherwise I think there’s a lot of promise in the poetry. I read a lot of poetry and feel like this book could be so much better if the above issue is addressed before publication.
April 30, 2020
RIVEN is a mesmerizing new collection of poetry by Catherine Owen, published by ECW Press. Owen’s collection has all virtues that Philip Sidney praises in his 1577 Defence of Poetry; notably, equally ethereal and accessible language that provokes and challenges the reader without being heavy-handed. Free of pretension, Owen shows grace and agility in exploring the subtle cracks and painful breaks in our world and lives. This book is honey for withered souls.
September 18, 2020
What a beautiful collection. I've encountered a lot of publications concerning grief of lost partners in the last couple of years, and have enjoyed this surge in the previously-unspoken. Catherine combines this theme with an ecopoetics rooted in Cascadian thought. There are so many strong images, stronger lines still--and it covers the spectrum of a river's identity. Will return to this one again and again.
February 29, 2024
It is odd when individuals who do not habitually engage with poetry, undertake the task of reviewing a poetic work. One might question the efficacy of such an endeavor, which is akin to a vegetarian appraising the merits of an establishment exclusively devoted to meat. I would council to ignore the reviews here from non-poetry readers.
Within Catherine Owen's "Riven," a discerning reader will be rewarded with an abundance of enduring imagery and profound concepts. In "Riven," Owen skilfully juxtaposes the degradation of the Fraser River ecosystem with her anguish stemming from the loss of her partner to substance abuse. This collection intricately weaves together themes of bereavement and introspection, drawing parallels between the turbulent waters of the river and the tumultuous currents of human emotion. There are sections of Owen’s book that require patience and thought, to be sure, but one should avoid the trap of expecting everything we read to be vernacular bubble-gum. Throughout "Riven," Owen deftly employs metaphor and allegory to offer dual perspectives: one introspective and deeply personal, the other transcendent and metaphysical. The river itself becomes a metaphor for the ceaseless cycle of life and death, serving as a poignant backdrop against which themes of loss, resilience, and remembrance are explored. While much of the collection focuses on the organic elements of Owen's environment, she also incorporates the presence of human intervention within the natural landscape. These intrusive structures serve as integral components in Owen's nuanced exploration of the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature, each influencing and shaping the other in profound ways. In the ceaseless flow of the river's waters, one finds a metaphor for the ever-evolving landscape of human experience, and the non-linear and lasting impact of grief.
Within Catherine Owen's "Riven," a discerning reader will be rewarded with an abundance of enduring imagery and profound concepts. In "Riven," Owen skilfully juxtaposes the degradation of the Fraser River ecosystem with her anguish stemming from the loss of her partner to substance abuse. This collection intricately weaves together themes of bereavement and introspection, drawing parallels between the turbulent waters of the river and the tumultuous currents of human emotion. There are sections of Owen’s book that require patience and thought, to be sure, but one should avoid the trap of expecting everything we read to be vernacular bubble-gum. Throughout "Riven," Owen deftly employs metaphor and allegory to offer dual perspectives: one introspective and deeply personal, the other transcendent and metaphysical. The river itself becomes a metaphor for the ceaseless cycle of life and death, serving as a poignant backdrop against which themes of loss, resilience, and remembrance are explored. While much of the collection focuses on the organic elements of Owen's environment, she also incorporates the presence of human intervention within the natural landscape. These intrusive structures serve as integral components in Owen's nuanced exploration of the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature, each influencing and shaping the other in profound ways. In the ceaseless flow of the river's waters, one finds a metaphor for the ever-evolving landscape of human experience, and the non-linear and lasting impact of grief.
March 15, 2020
Riven is a collection of poetry by Catherine Owen. I got this copy from NetGalley.
I'll be honest with you, I don't read a lot of poetry but I do know that when I do I'm able to understand it and fall in love with it. That didn't happen here; this just wasn't the collection for me and I couldn't get through it. It didn't start off too badly, I liked Thirty-six sentences but things did not improve from there.
I'll be honest with you, I don't read a lot of poetry but I do know that when I do I'm able to understand it and fall in love with it. That didn't happen here; this just wasn't the collection for me and I couldn't get through it. It didn't start off too badly, I liked Thirty-six sentences but things did not improve from there.
October 10, 2021
3.5/5
A big fan of the topic and I enjoyed many of the poems (and I LOVE the cover!!), but I listened to this via audiobook and that was simply not it. And sometimes it had a bit too much repetition for me. I think I would enjoy this much more in a physical book format.
A big fan of the topic and I enjoyed many of the poems (and I LOVE the cover!!), but I listened to this via audiobook and that was simply not it. And sometimes it had a bit too much repetition for me. I think I would enjoy this much more in a physical book format.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews