The Work of Snow

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

Gary Hyland writes poetry of memories. The offerings in The Work of Snow
evoke the ghosts of his past, both those lost to death and those lost to
chance. Melancholy but not despairing, Hyland’s poems seem to point to
time as the main enemy.

Each of the collection’s five sections is introduced by a quotation
that sets the tone for that section. For example, the section titled
“North of You” opens with a quotation from Margaret Atwood that
begins with the statement, “The North focuses our anxieties.” Hyland
incorporates this notion in the following 12 poems through examinations
of love, togetherness, loss and retrieval. This section also includes a
unique poem titled “Speakers” that consists of parallel poets
“Left (Him) Right (Her)” describing a piece of music from two points
of view. Elsewhere the poet pays tribute to the influence and importance
of Al Purdy, Eli Mandel, and John Hicks.

Gary Hyland has contributed a great deal to Saskatchewan’s literary
world: he is the artistic co-ordinator of the Saskatchewan Festival of
Words and the founder of the Moose Jaw Movement, Coteau Books, Sage Hill
Writing Experience, ArtSchool Saskatchewan, and Moose Jaw Arts in
Motion.