The 3 Roberts: On Childhood

Neil Querengesser taught in the Department of English, University of Calgary, Alberta.

This book is apparently the transcript of a poetry reading by the Three Roberts, Zend, Sward, and Priest. While one or two of the poems might be better appreciated if read out loud, all of them are nevertheless enjoyable in print. The unique voice of each poet mingles with the others, the poems of each Robert appearing in a more or less alternating order. The poets write mainly out of their own experiences and from different perspectives; Zend most often adopts the father’s or a third person’s point of view, Priest most often reflects upon the experiences of an embittered childhood, and Sward shifts from husband to father to child. These differing perspectives provide a changing yet coherent view of childhood, a view that moves effortlessly, for example, from Sward’s “By the Swimming”

to Zend’s “Administrative Error,” immediately following, about a father’s reaction to the news of his ten-year-old daughter’s death in a plane crash.

On Childhood is a good collection of poetry; unfortunately, no more similar books by this trio will be forthcoming. Robert Zend died in 1985 and he will be greatly missed.