Klondike Fever

David E. Kemp is head of the Drama Department at Queen’s University.

Currie’s fifth poetry collection is based on the real-life experiences
of Arthur A. Dietz, who formed the New York and Bridgeport Mining
Company in 1897 and with a crew of 17 men joined the 100,000 who swarmed
to the Far North in search of gold. Dietz recorded his adventures in a
diary, and it is this documentation that provides the starting point for
Currie’s imaginative re-creation of the team’s terrible journey.

This is a book written by a master of his craft. Through lyric
narrative and monologue, Currie creates a seamless depiction of an
incredible event that, in retrospect, was shot through with misery and
madness. His poetry is remarkable for its clarity and ability to convey
its message in an easy-to-read style. He draws us into this harrowing
adventure and creates situations, moods, and feelings that fully engage
the reader. He surprises us with his flashes of insight, his imagery,
and his ear for the colloquial and the spontaneous.

Klondike Fever is powerful, accurate, and immediate. Currie has
successfully fused fiction and nonfiction to create a poetic documentary
novel (“docu/-poetry”) of strength and authenticity. It is a book
that should be read by anyone who has an abiding concern for the events
that forged the collective Canadian consciousness.