“Wrack Line”
By M.W. Jaeggle
Published by University of Regina Press
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$19.95
ISBN 9-780889-779532
It’s a rare and wondrous thing when,
while reading a poetry collection, I start conceiving poems in my own mind. Vancouver-born
M.W. Jaeggle’s highly distilled first book of poetry, Wrack Line, has done
that for me, and I feel indebted. This is a poet who looks and listens to the
world around him at one already rare level, then amps his senses to an even
higher plane. One cannot help but tumble under the spells he ingeniously casts
with his poems about shorelines, wind, creatures, solitude, silence, loss, and guilt,
and then you look away from the page, reflect upon his finely-crafted lines, and
realize you’ve surfaced—as if from the sea—into gentle sunlight.
M.W. (Michael) Jaeggle is presently a PhD student in the Department of English at SUNY Buffalo, but the book’s title, elegant cover (northern acorn barnacles set against a creamy background) and the poems within strongly suggest that his heart remains on Canada’s west coast: a “wrack line” refers to the ecologically-critical organic material (including seaweed and seagrasses) left on the shore by wind, waves and tides. It also includes less desirable debris, ie: “blanched Pepsi caps”.
The poet eludes to time and the quality of being present (“I have found the time,/given myself to it, feel it as it is), and reverence reverberates through many of these poems. He writes of “an inner pew,” granite “made to kneel on the colony, prostrate before the sky” and “the grace which comes/from being that stillness”. Childhood is mined in pieces like the irresistibly-titled “Poem by Fridge Light,” which concerns the places one inhabits in childhood—ie: a fort made in the brambles, “its thorns piercing the hairless legs under our jeans”. In those remembered places “there’s no wristwatch on a nightstand,/just a mind kidding around/someplace unaware it’s unawake”. In another poem the narrator ponders the Pacific silver fir: “The tree presses, bark scours my back,” he writes. “Here, I is no history, Now,/ I am time”.
Form-wise, expect variance, including prose poems, free verse, poems written in couplets, and the ekphrastic poem “Colville’s Horses” that comprises the book’s fourth section. In these pieces—inspired, of course, by Alex Colville paintings— the last line on one page becomes the first on the next. Alliteration and consonance are frequently employed, and I noted the poet’s affection for the letter P: palimpsest, parapet, polled, apricity, parallax. In the long poem “Amor de Lonh” we find “There are teachers of all persuasions/perched in shore pine”.
One of my favourite poems is “Salmon Run, Horsefly River,” which reveals the poet’s heightened observation skills: “Five more red backs dart through/the platinum-glint riffle, where the water’s surface/is knuckled with granite stones”.
Jaeggle is a discerning poet. He listens to the sounds of water and “the lulls of sand,” and notices “bait-lathered hands”. His debut collection’s a metaphorical “basket” of “attentiveness” … and hope: “while we suture/our broken and partial worlds/with seagrass left behind by the tide,/each in our own way a historian of waves”.
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
__________“Haircuts Are No Big Deal”
By Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by
Putut Putri
Published by Home Style Teachers
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$20.00 ISBN 9-781778-152955
Here’s one young writer who’s on quite the roll. Saskatchewan children’s author, English as an Additional Language teacher, and Registered Behaviour Technician Ashley Vercammen has once again taken an ordinary experience—this time it’s getting a haircut—that can be scary for some children and she’s created a cheerful, step-by-step, illustrated guide to help the experience go more smoothly. Her softcover book Haircuts Are No Big Deal is good news for anxious children, accompanying parents, and barbers/stylists! It’s also fun to read and look at.
The story—brightly-illustrated by Indonesian freelance illustrator Putut Putri in a cartoonish, round-eyed-character-style—is another in the Home Style Teacher series, and it will be especially helpful for youngsters or youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who don’t like to be touched, are anxious in unfamiliar situations and/or are uncomfortable with certain sounds. As we follow shaggy-haired Charlie and his mother through their discussion of his pending haircut, we see that the author’s employed the formula of a) creating a predictable schedule b) breaking down tasks into small and simple steps c) actively engaging a child’s attention in a structured activity d) positively reinforcing good behaviour with praise and physical rewards and e) involving a parent.
Charlie understands that getting his hair cut at the barber’s is “no big deal,” but his wise mom knows that having a “practice” will be helpful, and after the haircut Charlie will “get [his] prize”. She alerts him to the experience’s sensory elements, including the sound of the doorbell; sitting “in the big chair with some of [his] favourite toys, snacks, and shows; having a “cape” put on him and having his head touched “alllll around;” and facing a large mirror: “but we can cover it with something fun or make funny faces together,” she says. Throughout the explanations, Mom smiles and gently further shares that they will use a timer from home—set for two minutes—while his hair is cut “with a shaver” by the barber, Emma. Mom promises that she will be with Charlie “the whole time, just in case [he needs] to pause for a break”.
As with another of Vercammen’s children’s books—Dentists Are No Big Deal—the author again leads her characters (and readers) right through the actual event. The thirty-minute haircut appointment is illustrated in a series of eight small, gold-bordered images on a two-page spread, then Emma sings “Ta Da!” and Charlie’s sporting his handsome new haircut … and a broad smile. Charlie throws his arms in the air and reiterates the phrase—bet you can guess it—he’s been using throughout the story.
In her brief bio notes, Vercammen says she “enjoys writing books with the aim of engaging readers in conversation”. I feel this book would be a great early years’ classroom addition. Vercammen’s also a publisher; she helps others write and publish their own children’s picture books. Learn more about the growing library of Ashley Vercammen’s thoughtful and helpful books—or publishing your own—at https://www.ashley-vercammen.ca/ .
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
__________
"The Four Seasons of Rusty-Belly: Ode to the Seasons and the Birds of Boundary Bay”
By Danielle S. Marcotte, Illustrations
by Francesca Da Sacco
Published by Éditions
de la Nouvelle Plume
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$14.95
ISBN 9-782925-329046
I am très pleased that The Four Seasons of Rusty-Belly: Ode to the Seasons and the Birds of Boundary Bay flew into my hands for review. Apart from the important facts that this geographically-specific children’s book is bilingual, well-written, and educational, I am perhaps especially pleased that it was illustrated by a real, living and breathing artist, not by Artificial Intelligence. It really does make all the difference; too often, of late, I’ve noticed that many writers and publishers are opting to use featureless, clichéd, computer-generated images in their children’s books, rather than investing in human talent.
Tsawwassen, BC author and former Radio-Canada host Daneille S. Marcotte has been publishing books since 2014—nineteen titles—and if The Four Seasons of Rusty-Belly is indicative of her talent, I need to get my hands on more of her stories. As indicated by its title, this is a seasonal story set in BC’s Boundary Bay Park, which is “located on a major [bird] migration route,” the Pacific Flyway. Each year the park’s “visited by 1.5 million birds from twenty different countries spread over three continents,” Marcotte explains in the “Did you know” page. I’ve been to Boundary Bay; it certainly is a phenomenon.
The story begins in spring, and it’s a playful celebration of nature herself: the soaring falcon, the robin who “sings breathlessly,” the bees who “daub their stomachs with pollen”. I appreciate the personification here. When summer arrives, humans visit Tsawwassen Beach, and “big sister imitates the whales” by floating on her back in the sea and spouting seawater while a child and his/her “beautiful and serene” mother in a billowing sunhat looks on from the shallows.
Fall brings pumpkins and “Dead leaves, without a care in the world,” and “Quiet spirits roam from the ancient rubble, guardian spirits of the First Nations who once lived here in freedom”. In “the cold rain of winter,” the child narrator “bring[s] Grandpa to the playground” and he’s significantly wearing his “favourite” rusty-orange sweater. The colour ties in with the titular “Rusty-belly” … you’ll have to read the book to find out which bird species this name refers to, and what other beloved things feature a “lovely rusty belly” in this softly poetic story.
The book’s dedicated to Francesca Da Sacco, “a great artist from a great country!” and the gifted Italian illustrator of this very book. Her watercolour images of herons backdropped by the thematically-coloured rusty trees is my favourite. Da Sacco does a commendable job of creating illustrations that will delight both children and adults. For extra fun, readers are invited to match the various birds in the story with the bird images that appear at the end of the book, and to create a simple bird feeder from a milk carton (instructions given).
Bunnies doing “silly stunts,” views of snow-capped mountains, a wind-surfer catching air … this is the Boundary Bay I know. Add the art, the activities and migration information and voilà—Les quatre saisons de Rousse-Bedaine est charmant!
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment