Linked Alive

Laurence Steven is Chairman of the English Department at Laurentian
University and author of Dissociation and Wholeness in Patrick White’s
Fiction.

To appreciate this book one must understand the poetic art of renga—a
process involving two or more people writing one poem together by
alternately linking concepts to create an image. In Linked Alive,
Michelut and Black (together with other Canadian poets) attempt to
translate the highly formalized Japanese renga into our traditional
forms and subjects.

The anthology begins with beautiful images of birth in the first set of
renga, titled “All the Way.” Michelut writes: “The water breaks.
Earth, ocean cradle / cage to a vein of gold pumped through.” Black
follows it with: “My womb sadly blossoms. My flesh jagged.” This is
a united poem, and unity or lack of it becomes the big factor in all of
the renga in the anthology. Two other sets successful in achieving a
kind of unity that makes them enjoyable to read are: “Birds in
Flight,” where Black teams up with Paul Savoie, and “A
Celebration,” with Black and Lee Maracle.

Two sets of renga in which unity is not as strong are “At Least the
Earth Is Dancing,” where Michelut writes with Charles Douglas, and
“From Inside the Pain,” where she joins Anne-Marie Alonzo. The
problem here is that they do not read as one. “At Least the Earth Is
Dancing” is not entirely out of sync and does have some linked
concepts. “From Inside the Pain,” however, reads like two separate
poems put into one set of renga. While mixing English and French lyrics
is an interesting and unique idea, here it separates rather than unifies
the poem.

An experimental anthology, Linked Alive is far from perfect, but
Michelut and Black do make an honest attempt to achieve the true spirit
of renga. The collection is worth looking into; the more we see of renga
in Canada, the better it will become.