Naked Trees

Naked Trees is a meditation on urban trees. It explores the life and death of these trees and the people who live with them. We see the trees through the eyes of a child, who finds her tree friendly and inviting, or view the tree’s life through the thoughts of a leaf, promised flight, but denied it by the capricious wind. Terpstra finishes the collection with a section on varieties, composed of poems on individual tree types such as prunus serotina and utility pole.

AUTHOR

John Terpstra

John Terpstra is the author of eight books of poetry, including Disarmament, which was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award, and Two or Three Guitars: Selected Poems. An earlier work, Captain Kintail, won the CBC Radio Literary Prize for Poetry. He has also written three books of creative non-fiction. The Boys, or Waiting for the Electrician’s Daughter was short-listed for both the Charles Taylor Prize and the BC Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. He lives in Hamilton.

Reviews

“Naked Treesis finely grained, thoughtful prose poetry with only a few decorative knots, and the woodcut illustrations by Wesley Bates fit the text like a well-glued joint in your best furniture.” – The Chronicle Herald

“He tells of towering white oaks along the QEW and the black walnut trees of Hamilton, discusses the beauty and functionality of utility poles, and the joy of creating a work of art from black cherry wood.” – The Globe and Mail

“Naked Trees is a journey to be taken and re-taken, like a favourite path or street revisited. Perhaps the best way to read it is to embrace it as an invitation?a call to look more closely at the trees you encounter, in all environments and seasons.” – Hamilton Arts Council