Fireflies in the Magnolia Grove

Susan McKnight is an administrator of the Courts Technology Integrated Justice Project at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

Fireflies in the Magnolia Grove is a collection of intelligent,
thought-provoking poems presented in language that borrows from almost
every discipline. John Smith asks questions that require linking the
individual with others, with planet earth, and ultimately with the
universe. There is an incorporation of past and future, making it clear
that only humankind can halt the destruction of our planet. Can we save
ourselves or is the dance we currently dance simply the repetition of
every civilization that has inhabited the earth? There are no simple
answers, just complex questions. Still, the beautiful, evocative
descriptions give rise to lofty thoughts, turbulent emotions, and a
glimmer of hope at the same time. The majority of the poems are written
in a free-verse form that reads more like prose.

John Smith is the poet laureate of Prince Edward Island and has been a
professor of English at the University of Prince Edward Island for more
than 20 years.