New Brunswick (Trade Paper)

Description

Heralding a new regionalism,New Brunswickinterrogates the popular representations of Shane Neilsons home province. Structured as a group of serial long poems, this fifth book by the winner of the 2017 Walrus Poetry Prize recasts the political, economic, and social histories of settler New Brunswick, particularly as they relate to the sacrifices of his parents. As forests are reborn and fields are healed by rest, Neilson insists that though we want catastrophes of fire, out of the ashes of charred dreams and old myths arise avenues for reconciliation through vulnerability and affect.Praise forNew BrunswickImmediately evident in Neilsons writing is an attentive musicalityExtensive and grounding imagery[His] sharp observations entice.New Brunswickrings in tone and tribute as a moody historic elegy.Quill & QuirePraise for Shane NeilsonShane NeilsonsMeniscusis an example of that rare and defining moment in a poets career when subject and language meld into authentic poetic voice. Winnipeg Free PressNeilsons ability to make the bipolar mind comprehensible, a place that needs to be understood, in Manic Statement is perhaps the books greatest success. It never lapses into clich and even manages to slip in a bit of wit. Canadian LiteratureNeilsons use of language is stark, but this off-kilter beauty is arrestingAlthough the territory Neilson covers in his debut tradebook is undoubtedly dark, there are still many worthwhile moments to be forged in its depths. Northern Poetry Review[Neilson] dares to dream. The Prairie Journal