At last, Canadian Poet Jim Bennett has published a new poetry book, Fortress: Poems 6. I was delighted to receive a copy from the author. Below is my Review of this delightful (and as usual, challenging) volume and I am proud to add his special poetry to his previous five.
My Review:
After an extended hiatus, we can finally welcome another
volume, the sixth, in Jim Bennett’s poetry collection. This one, I felt, was earthier than the previous ones, lusty and even outright sexy. There is also a
bit of political tongue-in-cheek, as in ReForms
of Intelligence. All encompass Bennett’s usual complexity of thought. Through
his mastery, he makes one think, imagine a parallel to one’s own life. He is
sly in his choice of words and verse, forcing you to re-read those poems until
you get it – sometimes maybe not.
Starting out with Possession, I felt I had gone home again without estrangement of
place or time. Silence is brief and
profound, whereas Chorus adds a dose of
sex; as do several other poems.
The book ends with Fortress of Solitude. To me, a contemplation of a waning life:
reflective, sad even, resigned, yet gratified to have been witness to it.
And that is how my first reading of this 70-poem
volume left me: Gratified – and most glad that I can add Poems 6 to Bennett’s
previous five poetry books on my shelf. But it won’t gather dust there, for the
depth and complexity of those poems cry out to be re-read and re-discovered
time and again – as they will be for sure.
