I received this book from River Street Writing in exchange for an honest review.
“We are all having / the same nightmare, overcome / by an invisible, relentless enemy / completely unable to protect ourselves,” (Connors, “Virus”).
Patrick Connors newest poetry collection covers a variety of themes mostly connected to the Covid-19 pandemic. Connors touches on topics of isolation and loneliness, the Black Lives Matter movement and the wildfires that polluted the air-quality in Ontario for many days, loss of employment, the U.S. presidential election, as well as the complicated grief associated with the death of his father and his own self-reflection of himself.
Connors does an excellent job communicating the bleak hopeless feeling of isolation during the pandemic, of each day being filled with dread as the numbers rose while it seemed the worst of humanity was broadcast to people without anyone being able to stop it. But there is hope in Connors poems and a whole lot of faith. I enjoyed the amounts of Canadian pride and call for Canadian accountability in his poems and how despite some of the heavier poems the collection a thread of hope stays present throughout the book.
Favourites include “Toil,” “Hemispheres,” “Virus,” “The World is On Fire,” “Hope,” and “Violet.”
Publication: May 2 2024
Publisher: Mosaic Press
Pages: 86 pages (PDG)
Source: River Street Writing
Genre: Poetry, Canadian
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
In this new book, Connors explores the depths of human experience, influenced by personal challenges and global crises. Reflecting on his own experience of pandemic-induced unemployment, Connors captures universal themes of dissatisfaction and the desire for renewal.
Sarah O'Connor 