Weathering It: Complete Poems 1948-1987

Sheila Martindale is poetry editor of Canadian Author and Bookman and
author of No Greater Love, her sixth collection of poetry.

A series of 50 new poems comprises the title section of this collection. All 14-line non-sonnets, they are part reminiscence, part current experience, sometimes a mixture of the two. Recollections of war are triggered by ordinary events: for example, a sore morning back reminds the author of a dead boy-soldier lying face down in the mud with a hole in his back the size of a pie plate. There is a sadness here, a regret for things that can’t be changed now; and an anger at the process of age and the inevitability of death: “death the black panther now rustling in his rib cage.” These are tight, controlled poems with powerful undercurrents. They are written in the third person, but nonetheless have a powerful personal impact.

The balance of this book is a reprinting of LePan’s three earlier books of poetry: The Wounded Prince, The Net and the Sword, and Something Still to Find. Many of these are longer, narrative-type poems, and since they are in chronological order we can see the progression of thought and style from the earlier to the more recent pieces. But LePan maintains a cerebral tone, and all of these are thoughtful, intellectual poems. Born in 1914, he was 34 when his first poetry was published, which may account for the absence of any weak or uncontrolled work.

This book gives us the opportunity to read poems which have been out of print for some time — a refresher for those who already know LePan’s work, and a good introduction for new-comers to it.