Passengers

by Michael Crummey

The sixth and, on the surface, most innovative poetry collection from Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist Michael Crummey.

Eclectic, unpredictable, and strange, Passengers follows Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer on an imagined circumnavigation of Newfoundland; traces the island escapades of Lucifer from the time of his arrival as a stowaway in the Middle Ages; and wanders the pre-pandemic cities of Europe, touching down in Stockholm’s ABBA museum, the Belfast Public Library, Austria’s plague cemeteries, and the Czech Republic’s Punkva Caves.

Widely considered “one of Canada's finest writers” (Globe and Mail), Crummey is noted for the immediacy and emotional impact of his poetry and fiction and for his ability to raise the vernacular to planes of “exquisite beauty.”

Part travelogue, part archeological dig, Passengers is an eccentric guide to the wild geography, folklore, and misbegotten history of the human heart.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2022

About the author

Born in Buchans, Newfoundland, Crummey grew up there and in Wabush, Labrador, where he moved with his family in the late 1970s. He went to university with no idea what to do with his life and, to make matters worse, started writing poems in his first year. Just before graduating with a BA in English he won the Gregory Power Poetry Award. First prize was three hundred dollars (big bucks back in 1987) and it gave him the mistaken impression there was money to be made in poetry.

He published a slender collection of poems called Arguments with Gravity in 1996, followed two years later by Hard Light. 1998 also saw the publication of a collection of short stories, Flesh and Blood, and Crummey's nomination for the Journey Prize.

Crummey's debut novel, River Thieves (2001) was a Canadian bestseller, winning the Thomas Head Raddall Award and the Winterset Award for Excellence in Newfoundland Writing. It was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the IMPAC Award. His second novel, The Wreckage (2005), was nominated for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and longlisted for the 2007 IMPAC Award.

Galore was published in Canada in 2009. A national bestseller, it was the winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (Canada & Caribbean), the Canadian Authors' Association Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for the Governor-General's Award for fiction.

He lives in St. John's, Newfoundland with his wife and three step-kids.

Reviews

[Steph Percival · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Twice our shuddering plane approaches the runway and sheers off / like an animal at full gallop shying from a fence” and so begins Michael Crummey’s poetry collection, Passengers. And like these opening lines of the first poem in this collection, Crummey’s poetry and prose take off at full gallop but in no way shy away from telling an adventurous story through three distinct and remarkable sections.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm forever looking through the poetry at my local bookstore for interesting little tidbits. Patty Crane's bilingual translation of Transtromer "Bright Scythe," being one of my favourites in recent memory (though not my first foray into his work). I speak and read Danish fluently, and I can handle some Swedish. I am sucker for Scandinavian poetry and literature, beyond Nordic Noir. I considered Transtromer to be my favourite living Scandinavian poet until his passing. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the description I read of "Passengers," other than to purchase a copy.
Crummey's idea of a series of travel poems, written in an imaginary circumnavigation of Newfoundland seemed fanciful. As I read them, I couldn't help but think back to high school English assignments, 20+ years ago and how much more sense some of them might have made if our teachers had some us a piece of work like Passengers first. The theme is fun, clearly follows throughout and most importantly, makes for enjoyable reading. There were a number of places I found myself stopping and thinking, "is Crummey really channeling Transtromer?" I had to go back and look at his poetry myself. I have also been drawn to Transtomer's later poems, but I could see right away that there was a relationship between the content and style of Crummey's Circumnavigation poems and and Transtromer's earlier poetry.
The book contains two other sets of work. The second appears to be a record of the poet's travels in Europe in the lead-up to the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War (heady days, for those who remember). I'm referring to the final chapter of the book as a the Newfoundlander's Screwtape: In which the devil comes to Newfoundland and records the centuries he spends on the Rock in poetry. If you enjoyed the Screwtape letters even a little, these poems will make you laugh.

[Salty Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a split-personality prose collection from one of Canada's finest poets. On the one hand, we have an imaginary circumnavigation of Newfoundland by Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer. Then, we are treated to a journey of a few European cities - Warsaw, Krakow, Vienna, Stockholm. Finally, we have Newfoundland seen through the eyes of Lucifer. Any collection that pays homage to my hometown Gdansk, deserves top marks. Highly recommended.

[Donna LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short clever poems.

[Janet Mercer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, image invoking, grounded to real life.

[Elizabeth Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always remarkably insightful and perceptive, sometimes unapologetically irreverent and judgmental. A bonus read if you’re a) from Newfoundland b) appreciate Tranströmeror c) enjoy a snicker d) all of the above.