China Blues

Peter Baltensperger is the editor and publisher of Moonstone Press and
the author of Arcana.

David Donnell has long established himself as one of the important
voices in Canadian literature. China Blues is a further testament to his
ability to manipulate and transform language into poetry and poetic
prose that is at once easy and compelling. Although the settings are
predominantly Torontonian, and the images specific and sharply defined,
these poems and stories are laced with multitudinous themes and concerns
that elevate them beyond the specific settings into the realm of
universality.

Donnell’s writing is suffused with a startling simplicity, and with
admiration—and longing—for the simpler things in life: good food and
good wine, love and companionship, the slow rhythm of a summer afternoon
on the beach or a pleasant evening among friends. Carefully chosen words
and phrases create an undulating flow of images weaving background
tapestry of the poet’s immediate surroundings and drawing the reader
irresistibly into a world of pop culture and the streets of downtown
Toronto. Aptly subtitled “A Book for the ’90s,” China Blues is
full of contemporary names, references, and allusions ranging from
eating establishments to news items and world events, creating a timely
framework of the cultural and political climate within which poet and
reader find each other and themselves.

The underlying themes and concerns are equally contemporary, and are
woven into the narrative and imagistic passages in easily flowing
transitions. References to the Gulf War, modern sexuality and
interpersonal relationships, writers, artists, and philosophers, the
economy, and Canadian and world politics intertwine with personal
memories, reminiscences, and reflections to form a complex worldview
that in many ways belies the apparent simplicity of the collection.
It’s a strong book, again, from one of the top contemporaries; not
just for Torontonians but for sensitive readers of good poetry
everywhere.