Along a Snake Fence Riding.

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

As the author points out in his note at the start of the book, the single poem he features contains eight voices: the narrator’s (who starts each of the 12 sections, with the twelfth only made up of the narrator’s voice), the Newtonian Clock (which appears in upper case letters at the bottom right corner of every page voiced not by the narrator but by the six others), and the six others who speak respectively in the following numbered sections: 0–6, 7–16, 17–28, 29–42, 43–54, 55–66. However, these sections do not appear in order; they are interspersed throughout the entire poem. This structure of random association juxtaposed with the narrator’s order and the Newtonian Clock’s relentless ticking creates tension in the poem and contributes to New’s theme about the uninterrupted movement of time and the inevitable gaps in human memory and perception. Tension is also created through the use of imposition such as in the book’s cover image, where a photograph of a snake fence in the grass is superimposed on another photograph with a similar grassy background. This sense of imposition is also echoed in the text through the sounds of multitudinous voices all speaking at the same time through the use of the six disordered voices and the appearance of the voice of the Newtonian Clock on the same page as one of those voices.

In addition to the above voices, in his acknowledgements New documents the numerous allusions (borrowed voices) in his poem. However, these allusions do not detract from the main thrust and pulse of the poem’s overall narrative. The tone of the poem is conversational and accessible; its structure is episodic in contrast to its language, which is highly associative. This breaking yet cleaving pattern is most clearly seen in the words of the Newtonian Clock, which are rhythmic variations on the theme and diction of time. The poem lends itself well to a dramatic reading and will appeal to all who have journeyed both in time and place.