In the House of No

Hugh Oliver is Editor-in-Chief, OISE Press.

Norris is not a household name, but is acknowledged by those who know of
him as one of Canada’s foremost poets. Like any good poet, he has a
precise command of language, and beneath the superficial simplicity of
his words and imagery there are echoes of deeper and more complex
meanings that the reader can hear but not necessarily understand: “We
know the world, but it is not the world / we desire; we want pillows and
incense / placed in all the rough places, all difficult moments. / We
break ourselves on what we perceive / To be the hard stone of
existence.”

Norris writes from a very personal perspective, grappling with the
puzzle of present-day existence and seeking “piece by piece” to put
“humanity together.” Apart from a couple of satirical pieces, I have
never read any of his other work, but judging by this book, he deserves
more notice than he receives.