The Outlines of Our Warm Bodies

Elizabeth St. Jacques is a writer and poet living in Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario.

No, the poems in The Outlines of Our Warm Bodies are not sexy. Instead,
Jasper concentrates largely on family-related moments. But
relax—nothing here is boring. Reading this collection is like
listening to a captivating storyteller on a cold winter night; you’ll
want the evening to go on and on.

Unlike most storytellers, Jasper does not window-dress. Her vision is
unclouded, and she tells her stories as remembered in a quiet,
undramatic voice, her straight-from-the-shoulder style ringing fresh and
true.

For example, although many of these poems clearly testify to Jasper’s
love for family, she also recognizes the “hostilities [that] have /
gone on too long” between her mother and grandfather. An old photo
reminds Jasper of the tension it created during her childhood:
“we’ve forgotten how / to smile,” she says (in “Face Value
Photograph 1944”). However, the past serves as guidance when the
relationship between the author and her own maturing child is strained:
“We bend over backwards / to keep the terms of peace” (“A Delicate
Balance”).

The love of family and friends weaves through this collection. Whether
it concerns skinny-dipping with childhood friends, accompanying her
mother to the radiation clinic, teaching her daughter to make a daisy
chain, or making macho with her women friends during their Friday-night
baseball game, deep affection radiates from Jasper’s color-filled
world.

Yes, there are bumps in The Outline of Our Warm Bodies. Plants are
referred to as “who,” and the few typos are distracting. Poems
chronologically misplaced also disturb, but all is forgiven because of
the high quality of these poems, and the obvious fact that Jasper knows
what works well.

Jasper’s strong, clear voice is tender without being saccharine,
humorous without being silly, tough without being hard. As a result,
these poems offer an outline of a very real woman, a woman of many
dimensions, depths, and colors, as well as a narrative poet who is one
of the best.