Methodist Hatchet

by Ken Babstock

Overview

Shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Trillium Book Award

Marooned in the shiftless, unnamed space between a map of the world and a world of false maps, the poems in Methodist Hatchet cling to what’s necessary from each, while attempting to sing their own bewilderment. Carolinian forest echoes back as construction cranes in an urban skyline. Second Life returns as wildlife, as childhood. Even the poem itself -- the idea of a poem -- as a unit of understanding is shadowed by a great unknowing.

Fearless in its language, its trajectories and frames of reference, Methodist Hatchet gazes upon the objects of its attention until they rattle and exude their auras of strangeness. It is this strangeness, this mysterious stillness, that is the big heart of Ken Babstock’s playful, fierce, intelligent book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770891586
Publisher:	House of Anansi Press Inc
Publication date:	04/30/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	668 KB

About the Author

Ken Babstock is one of Canada's finest poets. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of 2011

"With his new book, it’s time to forgo the qualifiers and just call [Ken Babstock] what he is: the best Canadian poet of his generation."—The Walrus

"Methodist Hatchet is as precise as it is expansive, as complex as it is companionable…[Ken] Babstock is one of the most exciting lyric poets writing today."—Globe and Mail

"The beauty here lies in its simplicity…the effect of the book is kaleidoscopic."—Another Chicago Magazine

"Methodist Hatchet will be a bellwether for contemporary Canadian poetry…[Ken Babstock's poems] invite us to listen more closely, to bring the discernment of reading poems into our habits of reading the world."—Rover Arts

Editorial Reviews

[Ken Babstock] is something like a baffled scientist investigating the limits of our comprehension . . . this book's poetic voice [. . .] represents our greatest opportunity to make sense of a seemingly schizophrenic world.

Puritan - E. Martin Nolan

With his new book, it’s time to forgo the qualifiers and just call [Ken Babstock] what he is: the best Canadian poet of his generation.

Walrus Magazine - Nick Mount

Methodist Hatchet will be a bellwether for contemporary Canadian poetry . . . [Ken Babstock's poems] invite us to listen more closely, to bring the discernment of reading poems into our habits of reading the world.

Rover Arts - Abby Paige

. . . affecting and deft . . . [a] lasting contribution to Canadian poetry . . .

Quill and Quire - Shane Neilson

. . . a dazzling display by a talented writer . . .

Toronto Star - Barbara Carey

…an outstanding volume – plugged in, polished, complex, and delightful.

SubTerrain - Brian Palmu

The beauty here lies in its simplicity ... the effect of the book is kaleidoscopic.

Another Chicago Magazine - Jennifer Moore

Methodist Hatchet is as precise as it is expansive, as complex as it is companionable . . . [Ken] Babstock is one of the most exciting lyric poets writing today.

Globe and Mail - Sinya Queras

A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of 2011

"With his new book, it’s time to forgo the qualifiers and just call [Ken Babstock] what he is: the best Canadian poet of his generation."—The Walrus

"Methodist Hatchet is as precise as it is expansive, as complex as it is companionable…[Ken] Babstock is one of the most exciting lyric poets writing today."—Globe and Mail

"The beauty here lies in its simplicity…the effect of the book is kaleidoscopic."—Another Chicago Magazine

"Methodist Hatchet will be a bellwether for contemporary Canadian poetry…[Ken Babstock's poems] invite us to listen more closely, to bring the discernment of reading poems into our habits of reading the world."—Rover Arts

From the Publisher