Enlarge Image
To embed a link to this book on your own website, please copy the code below.
Going Home
By Ken Norris
If, as Robert Creeley said, “form is never more than an extension of content,” what happens when we lose form? Does content retreat into its ruins, its absences? Can we never go home because it retreats from us as relentlessly and unfathomably as our future? Is the imagination ... Read more
Overview
If, as Robert Creeley said, “form is never more than an extension of content,” what happens when we lose form? Does content retreat into its ruins, its absences? Can we never go home because it retreats from us as relentlessly and unfathomably as our future? Is the imagination of “our” future as illusory and unreliable as the memory of “our” past? If, for the young man, “going home is the first defeat,” the first violation of a burgeoning autonomy, is the very imagination of “home” an abrogation, a transgression? These are the questions that the deceptively simple lyrics of this book ask, that we encounter as we navigate our way, “room to room” through their stanzas—from the poet’s New York childhood, his Montreal mentorship with Louis Dudek, to his volitionary adoptive “home” of Asia. The world changes in Going Home—9/11 happens. In that singular, extended historic moment all of our working models of representation on our North American Island turn to paper and dust, and now we know history always had other plans for us. The whole manufactured unreality of our world falls away in these poems, leads us both toward and away from being “at home” in the moment. “We’re all here and not here,” the poet reminds us: an index of time and the true nature of existence—a present impermanence.
Ken Norris
Ken Norris is a poet living in Toronto and teaching in Maine. He is the author of dozens of books of poems and the seminal thesis on the little magazine in Canada. His most recent books are Hotel Montreal (Talon Books, 2002) and The Way Life Should Be (Wolsak and Wynn, 2003). He teaches Canadian Literature at the University of Maine.
Reviews
“[Norris] is profoundly original, open and vulnerable, with a unique personal note that speaks to the heart of the reader. ”
— Poetry Canada
“It’s a whiteout of a poem, a way of showing lostness. Norris’ gift is his ability to show the lost self without entirely losing the speaker and the reader. ”
— Canadian Literature
Reader Reviews
Tell us what you think!
Sign Up or Sign In to add your review or comment.
Related Blog Posts
Writers' Craft: Victoria Hetherington
Coincidence, or "do not rest your hopes on these vain things that all men desire, but follow the sure road that leads to the highest good"
"He went on at great length about the conspiracy theory he had been formulating in the last week while lying in the dark. All about how the universe was trying to kill him.
'The universe is trying to kill me.
'The universe is trying to keel everyone, Milton.'"
January 6, 2021 ... Read more
In House: 3-Day Novel Contest
Ready, set, WRITE! Anvil Press gives us the historical deets on how the International 3-Day Novel Contest was established as a way to encourage writers to push their boundaries + how YOU can take part in this years contest, set to take place over the upcoming Labour Day weekend! ... Read more
Wearing Tiaras: On Fairy Tales, Community, and Happiness
It is winter 2012. I am walking across campus with fellow students from my poetry workshop to the bus loop, where I’ll catch a 99 back to the apartment with the leaky solarium I share with my partner. It’s a miserable day—cold, grey, with very little colour outside except ... Read more
Read the Provinces: Catherine Lafferty
Northern Indigenous author Catherine Lafferty talks to us about her connection to place, the barriers to entry for Indigenous writers in the Northwest Territories where she lives, and her memoir Northern Wildflower (Roseway Publishing). Scroll on for our chat with Catherine ... Read more
Poetry Grrrowl: That Light Feeling Under Your Feet + Kayla Geitzler
That Light Feeling Under Your Feet (NeWest Press)is the personal account of author Kayla Geitzler's time spent as a gift shop associate for three consecutive years on three separate cruise ships. Varied in it's forms, the collection shape-shifts to reveal the peculiar, ... Read more
In Review: The Week of January 14th
This week we created a poetry-inspired cocktail, looked to books to help keep resolutions on track, chatted with authors, and much more.
First Fiction Friday: Searching for Terry Punchout
PEI native and Calgary-dwelling author Tyler Hellard is scoring goals with his first breakaway novel Searching for Terry Punchout (Invisible Publishing), a truly Canadian tale of hockey, small-town Maritime life, and the universal truth of becoming our parents.
Gift Guide Week: Casey Plett
Lambda-Literary-Award winner Casey Plett is our final Gift Guide recommender this week with five thoughtful must-read titles for everyone from queer kids of colour seeking gay and lesbian fiction to road-trip strangers you never forget.
Love Week: Notes on Marriage from the Contributors of Love Me True
It's the day after Valentine's Day, and we're ready for some Love Week REAL TALK: namely, a frank discussion about marriage from the contributors of Caitlin Press' Love Me True: Writers Reflect on the Ins, Outs, Ups & Downs of Marriage. Check out the choice contributor ... Read more
- Dimensions 192 pages, 6 x 229 x 13 mm
- Published November 15, 2007
- Publisher Talonbooks
- Category Poetry
- Keywords Canadian
Other titles by Ken Norris
Get the All Lit Up Newsletter!
We'll send you bi-monthly updates to keep you in the loop on the best of our blog, special campaigns and offers, AND news on the latest in literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry from indie publishers across Canada.
You May Also Like
