The Clichéist

Lydia Forssander-Song is a sessional instructor in the English
Department at Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C.

Amanda Lamarche’s first collection of poetry is a witty and accessible
interrogation of language and its limitations. The collection’s
introductory poem, “The Splint That Keeps the Heart Still,” is
followed by four sections.

Part 1 (“Book of Fears”) lists fears that at first appear ordinary.
The first poem in this section is not simply titled “Fear of Dying,”
a very common fear, but “Fear of Dying to the Wrong Song,” a fear
that is a little more out of the ordinary and also a tongue-in-cheek
gesture on the poet’s part. The same sense of unexpectedness applies
to “Fear of Being Asked to Dance.” Instead of the expected
performance anxiety, the fear is actually that of “the true starting
position”—the beginning of relationships. Lamarche also includes in
this section a couple of unusual fears such as the “Fear of Buttons”
and the “Fear of Doorknobs.”

Part 2 (“Tracks from the Mouth”) encompasses unique perspectives of
the body and of place. “The Dresser” highlights the speaker’s
originality: “Still, even after years, I had to feel / my way around
it each night. It was like passing / another woman in the dark, the
knowledge of / thick white curves, the smell of finish, the
possibility/of openings.”

Part 3 (“A Tree Falls in the Woods”) on the surface consists of
instructions and advice about tree felling. However, upon closer
inspection, the poem is also about relationships and roots. The poem
tellingly ends, “I said, What about trees? / And other living things,
he said.”

In Part 4 (“The Clichéist”), Lamarche explores and explodes
clichés by providing refreshing contexts. She plays extensively with
line breaks and layout, resulting in visual gaps that also emphasize
potential gaps in meaning. A highlight of this section is “Sleep the
Sleep of the Just,” a poem in which the word “just” takes on a
double meaning.