Notes and Dispatches: Essays<\/i>
\nby rob mclennan,
\nLondon, ON: Insomniac, 2014
\n317pp, $19.95 paperback<\/p>\n
This collection of literary essays from prolific Ottawa-based poet and writer rob mclennan provides an appreciation of several authors, their work critiqued with enthusiasm and curiosity. mclennan\u2019s own talents and biographic anecdotes also weave throughout the 36 pieces. Each have been previously published in diverse journals, including Maple Tree Literary Supplement. <\/p>\n
In the first essay mclennan re-visits Don McKay\u2019s poem, Long Sault (1975), revealing the impact of the post-war construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, an almost-forgotten event occurring in central Canada and altering the natural surroundings and peoples\u2019 lives. The reader learns \u201cLong Sault\u201d has been out of print for decades, though rescued from potential obscurity through publication in an anthology. mclennan admirably recovers the poem once again, for readers to consider and value. As a voracious reader, mclennan is in the habit of making such recoveries, as some of his other essays attest.<\/p>\n
On a contemporary note, mclennan has followed, with a sense of awe, the writing of Sarah Manguso. Despite Manguso\u2019s hardships while still in her twenties, mclennan observes \u201c\u2026what amazes is just how aware and clear-headed she is of her own situation, especially through the passages when she claims she is neither.\u201d But suffering teaches us to pay attention, he learns from reading Manguso\u2019s novel, \u201cThe Two Kinds of Decay.\u201d She further suggests\u2014and mclennan clearly agrees\u2014that to pay attention is \u201cto love everything.\u201d <\/p>\n
Douglas Barbour is admired as both a writer and critic of poetry but mclennan wonders if this modest prairie poet has been unfairly overlooked. mclennan never pronounces, but does conclude many of his essays with provocative questions for the reader to consider. David Thompson, the explorer who mapped Canada\u2019s west centuries ago, is the subject of poems by Robert Kroetsch, another prairie writer mclennan praises. He comments on Kroetsch\u2019s unconventional but convincing choice of \u2018storyteller\u2019 in his Thompson poems\u2014the explorer\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n
In a playful essay about New York\u2019s legendary Chelsea Hotel, mclennan riffs on how this particular building has fascinated Canadian writers over the years. He briefly describes his own pilgrimage to the Chelsea Hotel, inspiring a poem which he duly shares in the essay. mclennan also shares several enlightening teaching moments with students during his writing workshops. In fact, techniques, methods and ideas to nurture the writing practise appear throughout this collection. mclennan encourages the practise of writing poems in response to other writer\u2019s poems, for instance, and in one piece, chronicles a student\u2019s success using this exercise. In \u201cNotes on writing, writing\u201d mclennan poses questions about literature, draws from other writers\u2019 thoughts and is self-reflective. One such question he asks is \u201chow far away does culture and identity still hold, still compel?\u201d mclennan\u2019s sure sense of identity, with Scottish immigrant roots in rural Ontario, provides his own answer which he more fully explores in another essay, \u201c\u2026.on \u2018compiling genealogies on Stormant and Glengarry.\u2019<\/p>\n
mclennan in the interviewee in one piece, discussing his own writing. As well, mclennan as interviewer to writers John Lavery and Michael Blouin are also included. \u201cCollaborating with Lea Graham\u201d is an insightful essay on what happens when creative sparks fly between mclennan and an American poet.<\/p>\n
mclennan\u2019s richly varied essays serve both the aspiring writer and the discerning reader. While the Canadian poetry scene is a primary focus, literary and geographic boundaries are occasionally crossed. Much more frequently, mclennan pays attention to the diction, form and motivation of a distinct nation of writers and this inevitably includes his own valuable contributions. <\/p>\n
\nThe Jesus Year,<\/i>
\nby Jani Krulc
\nLondon, ON: Insomniac, 2013
\n144 pages, $19.95 <\/p>\n
Prepare to be quickly immersed as you read seven short stories by Calgary-based author, Jani Krulc. \u201cThe Jesus Year,\u201d after which the collection is entitled, features 32-year-old Erica and covers a painful year in her life. Each brief and precisely worded scene provides clues to the story\u2019s finale\u2014Erica\u2019s 33rd birthday dinner party. During Erica\u2019s past year, her brother has died in an accident. The ensuing emotional disconnect Erica experiences with her spouse and friends widens, its destructive effect finally surfacing at her birthday dinner.<\/p>\n
The collection\u2019s central characters are typically young women navigating relationships, early marriage and family dynamics. Actions, not words, provide insights in to these protagonists\u2019 emotional world, demanding the reader stay mindful of telling details. Sheila of \u201cA Guide to Decorating\u201d is dealing with her aging parents, for instance, and though her husband Hank is physically by her side, she dwells alone in the dark shadow of grief. Distractions\u2014such as home decorating\u2014provide respite but still can\u2019t push back the darkness. <\/p>\n
The reader will proceed with caution if holidaying on Canada\u2019s \u201cwild\u201d Pacific coast after reading \u201cThe Evaluators.\u201d Olivia and Henry are innocent travellers to Tofino on Vancouver Island\u2019s isolated west coast for a romantic getaway. Yet another plot climax in this collection sneaks up on the reader.. <\/p>\n
Marcella is prepared to leave home and marry though still in her teens, as she deals with recurring anorexia in \u201cFamilia.\u201d It\u2019s a story line where the heroine\u2019s feelings are central to whether she will live\u2014or die. Flashbacks to Marcella\u2019s childhood and a game-changing scene with her fianc\u00e9 culminate in an ambiguous ending, providing a dash of hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have time to change,\u201d Pastor Mike explains about his attire to Maya and Finn as they visit his rural church in Alberta to plan their wedding. In this story, \u201cGoing to Market,\u201d the author sets the scene with a description of the Pastor: \u201cHe wore jeans ripped at the left thigh, black staining both knees.\u201d The Pastor further explains: \u201cIt\u2019s harvest\u201d and Maya answers, \u201cOh, we love the market.\u201d Therein lies the story\u2019s tension\u2014the gritty life of a rural man in contrast to Maya and her husband\u2019s convenient\u2014and thus naive\u2014 urban experiences. <\/p>\n
The writing of all these stories is sharp and sparse and the author\u2019s imagined worlds ultimately unsettling. Krulc provides the reader with glimpses of small shimmering truths through seemingly ordinary episodes experienced by \u2018every day\u2019 women. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Essay and Fiction Review Notes and Dispatches: Essays by rob mclennan, London, ON: Insomniac, 2014 317pp, $19.95 paperback This collection of literary essays from prolific Ottawa-based poet and writer rob mclennan provides an appreciation of several authors, their work critiqued with enthusiasm and curiosity. mclennan\u2019s own talents and biographic anecdotes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2835,"parent":93,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1491","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1491"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2671,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1491\/revisions\/2671"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}