Poems from the Burntwoods

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island.

This book of original poems—Chubbs’s first—is that of a gifted
poet. Possessed of a “massive fire of the imagination,” Chubbs
brings to his poems all the rhetorical warmth and fluency of a
Newfoundlander. Whether there or in Ireland, his theme is the same:
quiet reflection on aspects of time—present or past—in a variety of
contexts. He has at his command a galaxy of images—“caravans of
colour.” Several excellent black-and-white woodcuts capture the mood.
The book’s cover design sombrely conveys the theme of “The Burnt
Woods”; conversely, the photograph of Chubbs on the back cover,
striding along the lush green Cavehills armed with pen, paper, and an
umbrella, gives the reader a glimpse of irrepressible “Newfie”
humor. Poems from the Burnt Woods is recommended as a collector’s
piece, for it certainly is beautifully produced.