Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Catherine Chandler at the Signal Gala, This Friday

It's day two of National Poetry Month here at Biblioasis, and we're pleased to say that very soon our own Catherine Chandler will be launching her new book (Glad and Sorry Seasons) along with a host of extremely talented Signal Editions authors. Taking place on Friday at the Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 211 Bernard Ouest, Montreal, the Signal Gala is the perfect way to begin the month. Join Catherine along with Edward Carson, Jason Guriel, Jim Johnstone, and Richard Greene at one of the best indie bookshops going!

Catherine's poetry marries modern themes with traditional poetic forms, such as the sonnet, the kyrielle, the sonondilla, and the ballad stanza. We've included a little excerpt for you below (and we will, FYI, be continuing to post poems daily, or-close-to-daily, on Thirsty from now until the end of the month). She'll also be reading at The Yellow Door on April 10th.

(We're pretty sure spring feels a little more sprung now than it did when this next poem was written.)

Full Snow Moon
Catherine Chandler

The moon is full again. A latticed frost
clings to my window, while the crystal crust
of Lake Saint Louis glows as if embossed
with pearls this February night. It must
be twenty-five below. I search for words
of warmth the Guaraní alone must know
to trace their land of butterflies and birds
I made my own a mere four weeks ago.

She waxes and she wanes; she's counted on,
through human inconsistency and pride,
to reverence the rising sun each dawn
and keep her promise to the ocean tide.
But Luna's is a distant, lurid face,
her silent O no answer as to how
on earth I'll ever find the grit and grace
to muddle through to spring, one moon from now.

No comments: