Grasslands

Brian Burch is a teacher, writer and poet and author of Still Under the
Thumb.

Grasslands is much like the prairie landscape—the poems slowly roll
together to form one landscape with an occasional outcropping of
unexpected power and vision. Developed out of a submission for a public
hearing to support the development of Grasslands National Park, this
collection is full of echoes of Blake’s pastoral work.

Grasslands looks at the history and current vitality of the natural
prairie lands. From Sitting Bull to burrowing owls, from snake pits to
sunset snapshots, Poirier recreates in powerful, accessible verse an
important physical part of Canada’s heritage. In the midst of ongoing
constitutional disputes, it is refreshing to come into the presence of
someone who appreciates our shared traditions.

While Poirier’s narrative poems, such as “the cart driver’s
tale” and “Madam Caillier,” are very fine work, I found her
shorter, more imageric work, such as “reasons” more appealing. She
has a gift for simple, direct phrases and images that occasionally are
put aside when a story is being developed in her longer pieces.

This is an enjoyable collection. If you find it hard to read poetry on
its own, put some Stompin’ Tom on your sound system and open up
Grasslands. They go well together.