шш in review DISCOURSE OF THE OTHER - University of British ...

BOOKS IN REVIEWsion of the book is actually called "Notesand Postcards," but — to take the firstpoem and the last — in "Ironwood: Eastof Indio" a desert tree becomes an imageof the self after a trial by experience, andin "The Black Rocks of Oregon" harshimagery of sea and rock is emblematic ofgrief and loss.Trial by experience: Marriott countslosses in this book. The loss of youth, theloss of love. A vanished marriage hauntsthe poems. Marriott's experience as ahuman being and artist has not made herglib. The poems are direct in style andfeeling; vulnerable. Not confessional inany sensational way. The reader is movedaesthetically — by diction, line sense, andabove all imagery — and emotionally.The poems in the "Travels in NorthAmerica" section are especially intense."Summer Rivers" and "Interstate Five,"elegies for lost love, are noteworthy : theywork through their correlatives in a perfectlynatural (perfectly artful) way.There are failures in the book."Golden Gate Libretto" provides somesnapshots of San Francisco that do notseem important enough. And the titlesequence, a kind of poetic diary keptwhile waiting for a love letter, does notwork as a coherent sequence. There aretoo many gaps, too much brooding andanxiety rendered in flat lines. Recurringmotifs (dreams, sea images, architecturalmetaphors) try to bind the poems together,but there is not enough context.Waiting for a letter is a kind of plot, butnot a very tight one. Fortunately, thebook can survive a weak section : on balance,its strengths are conspicuous.Leona Gom has written so well abouther background in rural Alberta that wemight overlook her range as a poet. Sheis also a brilliant satirist and a sophisticatedstudent of urban life and its discontents— and of suburban life, too.Private Properties begins with a sectioncalled ".. . keeping in shape." Aerobicdancing, trendiest of trends, is an excellentvehicle for Gom's satire. The practiceembodies some common obsessionsamong the upscale: appearance, fancyclothing, the quest for self-improvement.The aerobic poems modulate into commentson home-owning, marriage, andinvestments. Gom has just the tools fordealing with these topics: understatement,overstatement, and the revealingmetaphor (arthritis as a symbol for anaging house) used in the right proportions.The middle section, "... a better revolutionary,"deals with women's issues:rape, toxic shock, pornography, batteredwives. The humour of the first sectionfades, of course, but the satirical gift doesnot. My problem with some of the poemsis that they seem willed rather than imagined.I am thinking particularly of"Aprons," "Matricide" (about witchesand misogyny) and "Grade Three"(where a child learns that men create artwhile women create crafts). I am moreconvinced by poems like "Silver WeddingAnniversary" and "The Neighboour"(about a voyeur), poems in which Gomhas created convincing characters as wellas typical situations. The last poem in thegroup, a witty reply to the question of"What Women Want," is not about charactersor even a situation, but it showsGom's sharp wit:not much/everything.a bra not as sadistic as it looks,peace on earth, not getting our periodsin rush-hour traffic, a few good friends,remembering our postal codes,the elimination of rape, growing oldwithout poverty, wearing sleeveless blousesand unshaved armpits and not caring,children by choice, never having to fakeorgasm or interest in hockey, workwe enjoy, size twelve thighs,crossing off everything on the list,that's about it/that's a beginning.The mixture of seriousness and humouris just right.207