Hammerstroke

Michael Williamson was Reference Librarian at the National Library of Canada in Ottawa.

Don Domanski’s fourth collection is an introspective and mainly elegiac series of poems presented in four sections: “Snowbound Letter,” “A Town of Weights,” “The God of Creation,” and “The Madonna Room.” He successfully maintains an even tone to his poetic voice thus creating a meditative and dream-like spell, which is further enhanced by his use of images such as roses, blood, spiders, moons, and stars melded to particularly vivid Maritime landscape images:

on the beach where the hands of a hundred card players

are carried in every morning by the tide

in the forest where every tree

has its dripping faucet its pile of dirty dishes

beside the towns where graveyards

are simply the nap of time and space

(“The Acadian Soul of Mrs. Gaudet”)

To complement the almost casual use of images, well-known mythic references are juxtaposed to what seem to be very personal narrative poems:

I’ve been drinking beer all evening

and feeling sorry for myself

watching bats throw their voices at insects

(“Strokes of Ink”)

This melange of images, mythic references, and personal stories successfully sustains the chillingly calm voice behind each poem and manages to transmute each poem into a unique, powerful, alchemical entity. The poet uses the long line — isthere any poet in Canada not now experimenting with the long line? — skillfully; in fact, this collection has the appearance of being casual and effortless, almost slight. Many close readings reveal that Hammerstroke is a finely crafted, deeply felt collection from a truly original poet who most definitely has a firm grip on what he wants to say and how best to say it. It is highly recommended.