Montreal Before Spring (Trade Paper)

Description

Telephone wires, dark as a line in a schoolboys notebook against the dawn; paint flakes from houses drifting down like dust; the hulking shadow of a desk that emerges, stock-still as a cow, in the moment of waking. Join poet Robert Melanon for a quiet celebration of his city, its inhabitants, and the language that gives it life.From Eden:You go forth drunk onthe multitudes, drunkon everything, whilethe lampposts sprinklenodding streets with stars.Praise forFor as Far as the Eye Can SeeAGlobe & MailBest Poetry Book of the SeasonBy the Winner of the Governor Generals AwardJudith Cowans graceful translation of Robert MelanonsFor as Far as the Eye Can Seepacks 144 striking and meditative sonnets into one small volume. Melanons work is rich and deceptively simple: Lets lift our faces to this October sunlight, and close our eyes; at once well share/the entirely philosophical well-being of the cat/whos stretched out in the grass. Its a welcome introduction to one of Quebecs major poets.The Globe & MailOne hundred forty-four poems of acute observation: Melanons invention is impressive. Judith Cowans rendering of the poets work into English is adroit and fully idiomatic.Montreal Review of BooksPoetry, in Melanons hands, is a way of seeing. GoodReports