Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Jennifer Maiden, Giramondo Publishing, $24.00.
Award-winning poet Maiden addresses political and social issues of the moment in this third annual poetry collection.
Featured are intimate conversations about power and policy between contemporary figures and their historical counterparts, including the recent US presidential election.
Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt counsel Hillary Clinton on compassion and responsibility during a stormy winter’s night in New Hampshire.
On a walk in the Scottish Highlands, the English Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Irish patriot Constance Markievicz discuss friendship, passive resistance and immigration.
Maiden’s commendably interprets the public figures. The settings are wonderful for her assessment of concepts, and depth is given in her attention to the ethics of conduct. The lyrical rhythm of her poetry offers steadiness and encouragement at a time that’s marked by severity and anxiety.
