Gold<\/em> Blue<\/em> (2001), Black<\/em> (2006), and Red<\/em> (2011), George Elliott Clarke\u2019s previous \u201ccolouring books,\u201d have now been joined by Gold<\/em>. In his preface, Clarke says that the three earlier works \u201cwere attempts to, in part, write outside lines and connect moving dots. Now, here is Gold<\/em>,\u201d a colour I carry in my skin, even if I am not, alas, formed of such mettle.\u201d Whatever Clark himself is formed of, his poetry certainly is gold.<\/p>\n As usual, Gaspereau has published book that is appealing both for its literary content and for its physical design. Interleaved with the poetry is a number of photographs taken by the author, photos that are, perhaps, visual poems. The most affecting for me was the one titled \u201cThe Light Gets In: Auschwitz, May 2015,\u201d in which the shadow of the sign \u201cARBEIT MACHT FREI\u201d contrasts with the light. In a way, contrast is one of hallmarks of this collection. The first poem, \u201cDuplicity,\u201d sets up the complexity of what\u2019s to come by describing a portrait: \u201cTwo-faced poet? That\u2019s me. Guilty\u2014as framed. \/ My double visage suits my double tongue[.]\u201d And wordplay immediately dances across the page: \u201cI redouble lies by dubbing aloud.\u201d<\/p>\n Clarke\u2019s poetry reveals his erudition; for example, they are filled with allusions to other writers. Pushkin, de Sade, Dickinson, and Plath occupy space in the volume which is filled with references to Canadians who are treated with the same care: Pierre DesRuisseaux, Flavia Cosma, Crystal Hurdle, and Austin C. Clarke, for example. In a way he brings to light the gold in others, and he does so with an exquisite control of form, varying length of line, stanza, and poem to suit the subject. He creates free verse forms and uses closed forms, such as the sonnet. He uses rhyme effectively, something not that easy to do or particularly fashionable these days. Other techniques employed include italics to draw attention to specific words and explanatory footnotes to alleviate obscurity.<\/p>\n One of my favourite poems in this collection is \u201cUpon Reading Flavia Cosma\u2019s \u2018Thus Spoke the Sea,\u2019\u201d a four-page poem in four parts that dissects the academic approach to literature, which is \u201cmoaning, dying, \/ In a professor\u2019s suffocating briefcase.\u201d Poetry is alive or should be, says the poem, but it also must suffer: \u201cIn true poetry, ink must bleed.\u201d Clarke\u2019s poetry deals with the body, both blood and other fluids in a direct and often coarse way. In poems about sex, Clarke is extremely direct and somewhat harsh. There\u2019s a challenging tone to the male perspective on intercourse or oral sex. In \u201cDesolazione Cosmica\u201d the reader is told, \u201cUnsheathe your slick, orgulous instrument, \/ Pickle it in that snacking gash; sink black \/ Twixt its two coral halves\u2014like a raven \/Chipping at a dripping watermelon.\u201d It\u2019s powerful, but the use of second person is likely somewhat destabilizing for some readers.<\/p>\n The longest poem, at eleven and a half pages, \u201cAustin C. Clarke\u2019s \u2018When He Was Free and Young and He Used to Wear Silks\u2019 (1971): Subtext,\u201d is firmly fixed in Toronto, specifically the Pilot Tavern where a man is getting drunk and talking to a divorced woman, who tells him,<\/p>\n I\u2019ve gone through a lot of men\u2014 Typically Clarke binds the earthy, with the conceptual, creating vivid images and activating thought. The sense of place is strong, whether it\u2019s Toronto or Nova Scotia or any other place, and his use of language bounces from the vulgar to the elevated with ease. The poetry is often uncomfortable, as Clarke never shies away from difficult topics of ethnicity, prejudice, desire, and pain, and I\u2019d argue the discomfort felt by readers is an indication of his Clarke\u2019s power.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an enormous range in Gold<\/em>; it\u2019s a volume that necessitates rereading and much contemplation. And it\u2019s definitely worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gold<\/strong>
\nby George Elliott Clarke,
\nKentville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 2016
\n160 pages, $21.95<\/p>\n
\ngoats in togas\u2014
\nand now I go through a lot of pills.
\nLoneliness<\/em> is unnerving, toxic.
\nBut most motherfuckers have elementary personalities:
\nEvil<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nBlue<\/em>(2001),Black<\/em> (2006), and Red<\/em> (2011), George Elliott Clarke\u2019s previous \u201ccolouring books,\u201d have now been joined by Gold<\/em>. In his preface, Clarke says that the three earlier works \u201cwere attempts to, in part, write outside lines and connect moving dots. Now, here is Gold,\u201d a colour I carry in my skin, even if I am not, alas, formed of such mettle.\u201d Whatever Clark himself is formed of, his poetry certainly is gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1904,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226\/revisions\/1904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}