Field Marks
The Poetry of Don McKay
Published on 30. April 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
88 pages
978-0-88920-494-2 (ISBN)
Description
This volume features thirty-five of Don McKay's best poems, which are selected with a contextualizing introduction by Meira Cook that probes wilderness and representation in McKay, and the canny, quirky, thoughtful, and sometimes comic self-consciousness the poems adumbrate. Included is McKay's afterword written especially for this volume in which McKay reflects on his own writing process - its relationship to the earth and to metamorphosis.
Don McKay has published eight books of poetry. He won the Governor General's Award in 1991 (for Night Field) and in 2000 (for Another Gravity), a National Magazine Award (1991), and the Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry in 1984 (for Birding, Or Desire). Don McKay was shortlisted for the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize for Camber and was the Canadian winner of the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize for Strike/Slip. Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, McKay has been active as an editor, creative writing teacher, and university instructor, as well as a poet. He has taught at the University of Western Ontario, the University of New Brunswick, The Banff Centre, The Sage Hill Writing Experience, and the BC Festival of the Arts. He has served as editor and publisher of Brick Books since 1975 and from 1991 to 1996 as editor of The Fiddlehead. He resides in British Columbia.
Don McKay has published eight books of poetry. He won the Governor General's Award in 1991 (for Night Field) and in 2000 (for Another Gravity), a National Magazine Award (1991), and the Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry in 1984 (for Birding, Or Desire). Don McKay was shortlisted for the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize for Camber and was the Canadian winner of the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize for Strike/Slip. Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, McKay has been active as an editor, creative writing teacher, and university instructor, as well as a poet. He has taught at the University of Western Ontario, the University of New Brunswick, The Banff Centre, The Sage Hill Writing Experience, and the BC Festival of the Arts. He has served as editor and publisher of Brick Books since 1975 and from 1991 to 1996 as editor of The Fiddlehead. He resides in British Columbia.
Reviews / Votes
``The quest for a wider audience for poetry may be quixotic, but this series makes a serious attempt to present attractive, affordable selections that speak to contemporary interests and topics that might engage a younger generation of readers. Yet it does not condescend, preferring to provide substantial and sophisticated poets to these new readers. At the very least, these slim volumes will make very useful introductory teaching texts in post-secondary classrooms because they whet the appetite without overwhelming.'' -- Paul Milton -- Canadian Literature, 193, Summer 2007, 201003 ``Selected and compiled by Meira Cook (who also provides the reader with an extensive and informative introduction) [and] enhanced with the inclusion of an essay by McKay ... Field Marks is a superb introduction to an accomplished poet and will motivate the reader to search out his other published works.'' -- Jason Warrant -- The Midwest Book Review, August 2006, 200608 ``The books are fairly slim (ranging from fifty-six to eighty pages), but each provides a decent outline of the respective poet's career, style, and dominant concerns. The introductory essays are straightforward and informative--they provide a useful interpretive framework for anyone coming to this poetry for the first time. These volumes seem designed for students and educators; each offers a more complete picture of the poet than one would get from an anthology.'' -- University of Toronto Quarterly, Letters in Canada 2006, Volume 77, Number 1, Winter 2008, 200807More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
136 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-88920-494-2 (9780889204942)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Don McKay has published eight books of poetry. Among his many awards are the Governor General's Award in 1991 (for Night Fields) and in 2000 (for Another Gravity). He was shortlisted for the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize for Camber and was the Canadian winner in 2007 for Strike/Slip. Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Don McKay has been active as an editor, creative writing teacher, and university instructor, as well as a poet. He lives in Newfoundland.
Meira Cook was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1964, received her PhD in Canadian literature from the University of Manitoba, and has recently completed a two-year term as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia. She has published poetry, criticism, a novel and, in 2005, Writing Lovers: Reading Canadian Love Poetry by Women. She has taught creative writing in high schools, literature at university, and has worked as a freelance film and arts reviewer and editor. She lives in Winnipeg.
Meira Cook was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1964, received her PhD in Canadian literature from the University of Manitoba, and has recently completed a two-year term as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia. She has published poetry, criticism, a novel and, in 2005, Writing Lovers: Reading Canadian Love Poetry by Women. She has taught creative writing in high schools, literature at university, and has worked as a freelance film and arts reviewer and editor. She lives in Winnipeg.
Content
Field Marks: The Poetry of Don McKay selected with an introduction by Meira Cook
Foreword
Neil Besner
Biographical Note
Introduction: Song for the Song of the Dogged Birdwatcher
Meira Cook
Down River, Into the Camp
At the Long Sault Parkway
The Great Blue Heron
The Eye Meets Tom Thomson's ""A Rapid""
The Trout
August
Lependu nearly materialized by his blackbirds
Field Marks:
Leaving
The Boy's Own Guide to Dream Birds
I Scream You Scream
Adagio for a Fallen Sparrow
Field Marks (2):
Identification
VIA, Eastbound
Buckling
Some Functions of a Leaf
How to Imagine an Albatross
from Black Spruce
Another Theory of Dusk
Meditation on a Geode
Choosing the Bow
Meditation on Shovels
Poplar
Early Instruments
Twinflower
Alibi
Materiel:
(i) The Man from Nod
(ii) Fates Worse Than Death
Setting the Table
(i) Knife
(ii) Fork
(iii) Spoon
Sometimes a Voice (1)
Load
Luna Moth Meditation
Hush Factor
Sometimes a Voice (2)
Astonished
Afterword: The Shell of the Tortoise
Don McKay
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Neil Besner
Biographical Note
Introduction: Song for the Song of the Dogged Birdwatcher
Meira Cook
Down River, Into the Camp
At the Long Sault Parkway
The Great Blue Heron
The Eye Meets Tom Thomson's ""A Rapid""
The Trout
August
Lependu nearly materialized by his blackbirds
Field Marks:
Leaving
The Boy's Own Guide to Dream Birds
I Scream You Scream
Adagio for a Fallen Sparrow
Field Marks (2):
Identification
VIA, Eastbound
Buckling
Some Functions of a Leaf
How to Imagine an Albatross
from Black Spruce
Another Theory of Dusk
Meditation on a Geode
Choosing the Bow
Meditation on Shovels
Poplar
Early Instruments
Twinflower
Alibi
Materiel:
(i) The Man from Nod
(ii) Fates Worse Than Death
Setting the Table
(i) Knife
(ii) Fork
(iii) Spoon
Sometimes a Voice (1)
Load
Luna Moth Meditation
Hush Factor
Sometimes a Voice (2)
Astonished
Afterword: The Shell of the Tortoise
Don McKay
Acknowledgements