PoetryReviews.ca

Rattling Books - January 29, 2007 - 1 Comment

In the Old Country of My Heart by Agnes Walsh

Reviewed by Maria Scala

Agnes Walsh, recently named by the City of St. John’s as their first Poet Laureate, is no stranger to the charms of oral history, since she also works as an actor and playwright, and founded the Tramore Theatre Troupe on the Cape Shore of Placentia Bay. The poems from the CD In the Old Country of My Heart (originally published as a book in 1996 by Killick Press) are thus well-suited to the audio form, as Walsh performs them with the same conviction and precision with which she penned them more than a decade ago.

Continue...

Rattling Books - January 11, 2007 - 0 Comments

Merrybegot by Mary Dalton

Reviewed by Melanie Maddix

When I first read Mary Dalton’s Merrybegot (Audio Book | Print Version), I was immediately taken in by its musicality. This book loves language. The idioms of Newfoundland take some getting used to, and I must confess that I still don’t know what they all mean. For the most part it can be guessed at by the context, or if you are the studious type, Dalton provides a web link for The Dictionary of Newfoundland English.

Continue...