The Curing Berry

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

The dustjacket of this collection tells us that Mr. Ward is more or less a renaissance man — poet, novelist, musician, playwright, and script writer — so it is appropriate that this collection functions as a “selected works,” offering bits from a variety of works. The short lyrics work best, most notably, “About The Fire,” “Finally,” “She Tells Her Mama,” and “Home”; here the poet achieves a funky, powerful beauty and sensitivity: “There /Is a space /In your eyes /No tear has ever filled /I stood /surrounded by it /And called it /Home.” Most of the poems in the book contain black jive phrases such as, “Never got no notion to /Git in under and hug it,” and this adds to the macho but sensitive atmosphere throughout. The six sections of the book do not add to the cogency of the poetry; if the book is about anything or has identifiable themes, it would be safe to say that these are mainly about being black in the Canadian east coast mosaic, “Cutting an Ebony Tile in the Canadian Mosaic,” love, family, religion, and — loosely — the blues; many of the pieces read like old blues songs. Because of this style and diction, the poems lose meaning but do achieve a vestigial resonance. Mr. Ward’s voice is certainly a fresh one, and often a cathartic one, given the serious context of much Canadian contemporary poetry. This is a collection to enjoy for its sound and sensuality. Great poetry it isn’t, but, curiously, that doesn’t much matter.