School

by Jen Currin

A 2015 ReLit finalist

A 2014 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize finalist

Shortlisted for the 2015 Pat Lowther Memorial Award

"Her poetry is a subversion of the dominant paradigms in this country . . . one ride that will leave you gripping both sides of the canoe."-Lambda Literary Review

At times a call to action and at others an intimate conversation between friends, Jen Currin's sensual and surreal poems speak to the political upheavals and environmental catastrophes of our time. School is an instruction manual for igniting transformation through a collective effort of love and community.

Jen Currin's books of poetry include Hagiography and The Inquisition Yours, which won the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry and was shortlisted for a Lambda Award.

Genres: Poetry

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2014

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The schools have closed. It's our opportunity to sleep."

"& I hope you give back those library books you stole in Arizona..."

"If your parents were missionaries - okay. If you are a missionary - what the f*ck are you talking about?"

"If I have a suitcase, I have to carry it."

[OK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my kinda poetry, too surrealist for me. I can appreciate Currin’s interest in noticing / holding conflicting tensions. I thought her use of single endstopped lines (usually as aphorisms, or dense and unlinked images) was interesting and challenging.

I didn’t enjoy the collection because it felt like the majority of the poems didn’t care about connecting to a reader. I’m not sure if I would call them flippant or obtuse or aloof but they exist somewhere in that atmosphere. Maybe that’s the point of the collection but I can’t handle that many cold poems, especially if I don’t feel a meaningful politic or heartbeat. I have other things to read.

[willowdog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by a lesbian poet, the poems are not fulfilling. They are somewhat stereotypical of what we are told poetry should be about--nature, environment, some bittersweet love. Found lacking--very cold and distant. I want my poetry to be stronger.