"Hollywood Blockbuster, Minus Overpriced Concessions"

Here's a lovely review of GG poetry winner Boxing the Compass. It was written by Mark Callanan, and appeared earlier this month in the trendy St. John's monthly paper The Scope.

Jonesing for Jones

Over the last several weeks, the D.G. Jones collected has picked up plaudits at The Rover:

"Jones has gone on to test the flexibility of form and to grow the bolder voice of a mature poet who has swallowed Leviathan"

and on Rob Mclennan's blog:

"one of the rare few Canadian poets who completely understands the purpose and point of a perfect line break"

I'll renew my invitation to anyone interested in a review copy of this important book. Please get in touch.

Black Tie, Long Dress

Simon and Richard in the green house.

These lovely ladies (starting from the left) are my wife, Jennifer Varkonyi, and Richard's wife, Marianne Marusic.

The Rideau Boys

Richard and me at the GG awards presentation on Thursday night, courtesy of Max Middle who has assembled a slideshow here. I'll let you know as soon as more pics become available.

Ephemeris

Montreal poet Norm Sibum now has a website (yes, you read that right). I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you dropped by every now and then.

Sparring Partners

For the last six years, Alex Good’s annual Runaway Jury—the provocative shadow jury he convenes to vet the GG poetry shortlist—has been one of the highlights of the Fall awards season. Good took a sabbatical in 2009, but he’s back again with a pair of fresh recruits: Jacob McArthur Mooney and Brian Palmu. This year's Runaway Jury is of special interest to me, of course, because Signal had two books on the shortlist. But the debate -- driven, as always, by each participant's need to call it as they see it -- is well worth your time.

Coming Attractions

I’m nearly a month late in posting this, but I want to thank Jacob McArthur Mooney for including Mark Callanan’s upcoming book on his list of 2011 recommendations.

For anyone on the lookout for more CanPo offerings, we’ve assembled a really solid roster next year, with Asa Boxer and Linda Besner teaming up this Spring (her cover above). Anita Lahey joins Mark in the Fall.

I’ll be first in line for Julie Bruck’s Monkey Ranch, to be published by Brick (check out the Fall issue of Maisonneuve for some wonderful poems from the book). In the meantime, I’ll point poetry fans to the John Glassco biography A Gentleman of Pleasure, by Brian Busby, out in March from McGill-Queen's University Press, as well as my own selection of Glassco poems that Frog Hollow will be publishing around the same time.

Boxing Greene

The Globe and Mail says Boxing the Compass "deserves the larger new audience its G-G award will grant it." And check out this wonderful CBC interview Richard did a couple weeks back.

1000 words

Thanks to eveyone for their congratulations. The moment was a tad bittersweet, as it meant that another Signal poet (and good friend) had to lose, but I'm immensely proud of Richard. Now I'm off to rent a tux.