Timely Irreverence

Timely Irreverence is a collection of occasional poems that are sewn together through the inescapable intrusion of poetry itself. With circles of logic that provoke thoughtfulness, the paths of these poems are alluringly complex, and they engage through amusing points of casual living, visceral moments when poetry is permitted to intrude upon the everyday. Whether MillAr is letting a poem pass him by while mowing the grass, or etching it upon himself to “make them witness our cliches,” Timely Irreverence is filled with the voice of a poet in touch with and opposing his creative spirit.

AUTHOR

Jay MillAr

Jay MillAr is a poet, publisher and bookseller. He is the proprietor of Book*hug Press and the author of many privately published editions. His full-length books include The Ghosts of Jay MillAr (2000, Coach House), Mycological Studies (2002, Coach House) and False Maps for Other Creatures (2005, Nightwood). His latest book is Double Helix, a collaborative fiction collection with Stephen Cain. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Hazel, and their son, Reid.

Reviews

MillAr’s writing foregrounds a wry self-awareness: most of the poems thematize themselves as poems, as avowedly contingent verbal artifacts (as in the title poem: “I’m tinkering with these lines . . .”). Another preoccupation in his work seems to be with collisions of representation and violence, as in “More Trouble with the Obvious,” where in a kind of dark comedy of innocence he describes how “kids” turn found objects into imaginary guns, which still – as mundane alchemies, blurring creativity into threat – have the potential to “blow you away.”–Kevin McNeilly, Frank Styles Blog
Timely Irreverence from Jay Millar brings another sardonic yet insightful perspective from the Canadian perspective, well worth considering. –John Taylor, Midwest Book Review