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this book possesses a force much more powerful than its appearance betrays
Given the prolific publication of poetic offerings out of Toronto, it can be very difficult to overcome the weariness and fatigue of another battery of Toronto poets elbowing for national attention. However, Scheier's debut collection of poems is a rare signal event that bridges local and national appeal. The delightfully earnest character of Scheier's poems comes across as occasionally amusing, thought-provoking, absurd, and perceptive -- but always seemingly unscripted, as if the poet had not set out to write a poem, but is musing aloud. Rather than relying on such innovations as "langpo" or "vispo", Scheier continues his poetic trek along a distinctly more traditional Canadian style of earnest phrasing -- reminiscent of the later works of McFadden.
Stripped of an gravid and forced poetic devices, Scheier's offerings present the reader with a clean and unfettered transmission of voice. The natural rhythmic conventions endow each of these poems with a smooth flow as the topics within the poetic purview gently ferry readers from observations of the mundane and absurd to a kind of verbal resistance that tackles some of the more derelict absurdities of life. At times, the poet's voice is doleful, and other times somewhat quirky and resigned. Tastefully dotted in places with geographical-specific and biblical references, we are given an intimate portrait of a modern and complicated being that deals with the emotional aftermath of loves lost and gone cold. We are also reminded that the smallest flickers of isolated memories illuminate the innate poetry of our lives in ephemeral and inexpressible moments. The volume is svelte, the verses modest, but this book possesses a force much more powerful than its appearance betrays.
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