Helsinki Drift

Nonfiction, Travel, Europe, Fiction & Literature, Anthologies, Poetry
Cover of the book Helsinki Drift by Douglas Burnet Smith, Dundurn
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Douglas Burnet Smith ISBN: 9781770706460
Publisher: Dundurn Publication: May 16, 2002
Imprint: Dundurn Language: English
Author: Douglas Burnet Smith
ISBN: 9781770706460
Publisher: Dundurn
Publication: May 16, 2002
Imprint: Dundurn
Language: English

Actress Mae West once said "I’ve been things and seen places." Poet Douglas Burnet Smith might well be able to lay claim to the same boast. In his latest collection of verse he takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic journey through Amsterdam’s antique streets and canals, Tuscany’s sun-soaked landscapes, Paris’s Gallic gabble of monuments and madcaps, and the title poem’s Finnish auditory and aural delights. In one poem we play Scrabble with Dadaist Tristan Tzara. In another work, "Sophia," we encounter "the mangy wisdom of wild dogs on every street,/skulking, pawing rabid piles of garbage/choking gutters, begging at the front doors of restaurants/like reeducated ideologues." In still another verse the poet’s persona contemplates Italian artist Giotto in Colorado, citing "the copper hogbacks" in which "he sees layered/trecento shale-engraved depictions of Egypt and the Exodus." And everywhere his Muse takes him, Smith injects his stopovers with fresh perspectives, lending credence to seventeenth- century English essayist Sir Thomas Browne’s dictum: "Ready to be anything in the ecstasy of being ever."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Actress Mae West once said "I’ve been things and seen places." Poet Douglas Burnet Smith might well be able to lay claim to the same boast. In his latest collection of verse he takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic journey through Amsterdam’s antique streets and canals, Tuscany’s sun-soaked landscapes, Paris’s Gallic gabble of monuments and madcaps, and the title poem’s Finnish auditory and aural delights. In one poem we play Scrabble with Dadaist Tristan Tzara. In another work, "Sophia," we encounter "the mangy wisdom of wild dogs on every street,/skulking, pawing rabid piles of garbage/choking gutters, begging at the front doors of restaurants/like reeducated ideologues." In still another verse the poet’s persona contemplates Italian artist Giotto in Colorado, citing "the copper hogbacks" in which "he sees layered/trecento shale-engraved depictions of Egypt and the Exodus." And everywhere his Muse takes him, Smith injects his stopovers with fresh perspectives, lending credence to seventeenth- century English essayist Sir Thomas Browne’s dictum: "Ready to be anything in the ecstasy of being ever."

More books from Dundurn

Cover of the book Cottage Daze by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book The Emerald Key by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Film Society by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Dundurn Performing Arts Library Bundle — Musicians by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Northern Winters Are Murder by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Posted to Canada by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book The Little Jane Silver 2-Book Bundle by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book D-Day by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Nine Bells for a Man by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Algonquin Quest 3-Book Bundle by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Now You Know Disasters by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book The Busybody Buddha by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book The Gargoyle Overhead by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Red Jacket by Douglas Burnet Smith
Cover of the book Bleeding Darkness by Douglas Burnet Smith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy