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Orion Sweeping
2023 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award Shortlist Anne Marie Todkill's debut recalibrates the anxiety of the present. It gives doubt a hearing, finding resilience in fragility and grace in unexpected places. The poems assembled in Orion Sweeping take nothing at face value. What are we to make of a radioactive souvenir, a shape-shifting dog, landscapes made strange by time? The speakers gathered here seek to set the record a mink gives advice; a wolf disputes a rumour; a photographer zooms in on a kill; a military strategist gives lessons in peace. But the sum of the evidence is not bleak. A baby arrives as robustly as a whale; the solidarity of marriage is enacted in surprising ways; father and daughter share a gift for reprieve. Under the penetrating gaze of these poems, beauty and tenderness come quietly into view.
- GenresPoetry
98 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 13, 2023
I bought this book after hearing Anne Marie Todkill read at Novel Idea in Kingston.
The book is broken into a few sections, EARTH, AIR, FAMILIA, LOSS LESSONS, ASSISI VARIATIONS.
Personally, my favourite section was the first, and then declined in order from there. The first two sections are primarily nature poems, and reflections on nature. These poems spoke to me the most.
The third section, FAMILIA, was more intriguing than I thought it would be. Some of my favourite poems from the book (“Fall Risk”, “Nursing Home”, “Afterbirth”) were in this section.
The writing throughout the book is strong. Anne Marie doesn’t waste a word. Her reflections on nature and its connection to family and life were interesting. But the subject matter of the last two sections just didn’t speak to me.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes nature poems. I’ll definitely return the poems in the first three sections again and again.
The book is broken into a few sections, EARTH, AIR, FAMILIA, LOSS LESSONS, ASSISI VARIATIONS.
Personally, my favourite section was the first, and then declined in order from there. The first two sections are primarily nature poems, and reflections on nature. These poems spoke to me the most.
The third section, FAMILIA, was more intriguing than I thought it would be. Some of my favourite poems from the book (“Fall Risk”, “Nursing Home”, “Afterbirth”) were in this section.
The writing throughout the book is strong. Anne Marie doesn’t waste a word. Her reflections on nature and its connection to family and life were interesting. But the subject matter of the last two sections just didn’t speak to me.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes nature poems. I’ll definitely return the poems in the first three sections again and again.
April 4, 2023
There were many poems that made me feel breathless and emotional. Wonderful collection full of beautiful imagery and lines that make me feel full.
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September 2, 20233.5, loved the nature references, some poems connected deeper than others
October 31, 2024
I loved this poetry collection.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews