a review of Marcus McCann's Soft Where (from Canadian Bookseller);

Poetry Corner

Canadianbookseller Volume 4 – 2009

SOFT WHERE

by Marcus McCann

Chaudiere Books

ISBN: 9780978342807

BY RONNIE R. BROWN

Described as a "first trade book, following a pile of chapbooks," Soft Where introduces the quirky, sexy, alliterative work of Marcus McCann, a young poet who also serves as the editor of Capital Xtra, Ottawa's gay and lesbian newspaper, to a far wider audience.

Using rapid-fire patter, with a rhyme thrown in here and there for good measure, McCann's poems revel in wordplay. Poems begin with catchy lines such as "The outing's disorientation/ session will commence immediately" and end with unanswerable questions like "What' elastic, if we don't/bend it?" As for the middles, well, how about "a brick sifthouse sieving/ the imminent filament/ uncovers the E-pocalypse"?

This is poetry for a new age; poetry that a reader can easily imagine being performed (to a transfixed audience) on stage. Lines such as "Your head's employees/ call in a snowday, crescent of wrist stung/ like electrical tape was yanked off. Yowsa.//" cry out for a stage and a mike. Given this, McCann is a perfect fit for (relative) publishing newcomer Chaudiere Books' fourth season lineup. (In fact, subtle echoes of Chaudiere's senior editor rob mclennan's own style seem to ring through.)

It's always good to know ‘where it’s at,’ and Soft Where shows one of the new and exciting places where poetry is headed.

Ronnie R. Brown is the author of five books of poetry; her fourth, States of Matter (Black Moss, 2005), was awarded the Acorn-Plantos People's Poetry Award, an honour for which her fifth book, Night Echoes (Black Moss, 2006), was also short-listed. A sixth collection, Rocking on the Edge, is expected out soon.

some recent Michael Bryson activity;

Chaudiere author Michael Bryson (The Lizard and Other Stories) has been pretty busy lately. Here's an interview with him by Lemonhound on reviewing, a profile on Open Book Toronto, a video to promote the book, a video made at Ottawa's TREE Reading Series back in November, and then there's his 12 or 20 questions from nearly a year back (in case you forgot). He even had some new fiction in the new online version of The Puritan, in case you're already hungry for more.

Michael Bryson reading in Toronto at Pivot;

Chaudiere Books author Michael Bryson reads at Toronto's Pivot Reading Series;

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
8 p.m. at the Press Club
850 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Hosted by Carey Toane
PWYC.

Michael Bryson is the author of three short story collections, the most recent of which is The Lizard and Other Stories (Chaudiere, 2009). From 1999-2009, he was the publisher and editor of the online literary magazine, the Danforth Review. His stories have appeared in Best Canadian Stories, the Fiddlehead, the Antigonish Review, and many other journals. He blogs at http://thenewcanlit.blogspot.com

Faye Guenther has written for Broken Pencil and the Danforth Review, and works as Joyland.ca’s editorial assistant. She has performed her poetry at reading series in Toronto and Montreal. Her short story “Bicycle Dreams” was published in Dandelion Magazine in 2009.

Bill Kennedy is the co-author of apostrophe with Darren Wershler-Henry (ECW, 2006). He has been the artistic director of the Scream Literary Festival since 2002, as well as a poetry editor for Coach House Books and a co-organizer of the Lexiconjury Reading Series.

http://pivotreadings.wordpress.com

Michael Bryson's collection of short stories, The Lizard

is now available from Chaudiere Books, here. To order copies, send $18 (+ $2 for shipping) to: rob mclennan, 858 Somerset Street West, main floor, Ottawa ON K1R 6R7, or order through your favourite bookstore! Review copies and author interviews available upon request.