The Blue Silk Underwear of the Incredible Miss Rainwater

Chris Faiers, winner of the 1987 Milton Acorn People’s Poetry Award,
is author of Foot Through the Ceiling.

Gail Harris’s first collection presents an interesting new voice. Born and educated in B.C., Harris is also active on the poetry performance scene, both in Canada and in England, and selections of her poetry have been featured as videos and shorts. Her poetry stands up on its own on the printed page, however, and this strength makes me wonder what I’m missing by not having experienced her performances.

Subjects shift with the five sections presented. The first three are a strong mix of verse and prose poems, with the tone several shades darker than the lighthearted book title suggests. Many are relationship poems, and though there are the prerequisite axes and such, Harris suggests through her fascinating “post-gothic” voice that perhaps the audience is receiving the occasional wink.

My favourite section is the fourth, “Where Ice-Cream Men Are The Only Men To Dare.” Harris comes across as a worldly young woman who truly loves men, even though she knows all too well what nerds and even dangerous creatures our sex can be. The poem “Jerks” is a gem. It begins: “A young man often remains a Jerk for a long time,” and continues:

“The Indianapolis Speedway is a Popular Meeting Place for Jerks. As is the Studio 54

Discotheque in New York City.

Jerks enjoy an atmosphere of tension and the

attitude of a race. They often forget to attach

their helmets Securely. The sun has set in a

Jerk’s eyes more than one time.”

Harris thoughtfully includes advice for jerks, and those who love them:

“If you find a Jerk by mistake, just drop him in

the nearest mailbox.”

I hope that Harris continues to write poems in this vein. There are so few poets of any sex who can write with such painful hilarity.

In the last section, “Spirits Have A Way of Descending,” Harris details a slightly warped Christian pantheon of cherubs and angels. I found the section fun, but had the feeling that it was an exercise on a theme from a writer quickly honing her skills, but not yet working at the full command of her own imagination and humour as demonstrated in the earlier sections.

All in all, a titillating book.