War in an Empty House

This book is Domanski’s third, following The Cape Breton Book of the Dead and Heaven, and is divided into three sections: “Dreamtime,” “Hierology,” and “Cities and Pages.”

War in an Empty House is an exciting, well-crafted book that will add to Domanski’s growing reputation. The surreal abounds, reminiscent at times of a Magritte painting, at others of the poetry of Patchen or Cohen. But Domanski’s voice is quietly unique.

There is a strong but unobtrusive thematic linking here. The cosmic holiness that occasionally informs the book’s first section becomes the focal point of “Hierology’s” declaratives. Most appealing is the strength and originality of image: saints drink water from bicycle spokes, “eat what you / cannot hear.” In this section, Domanski also moves into the longer poem, foreshadowing the formal repetition of the final section.

“Cities and Pages” consists mainly of linked pairs of series of poems. It opens with three poems about imaginary novels, ending with six meditations on cities. The catechismic style of “Hogtown” echoes the religious perspective of “Hierology.” Finally, two poems link Carlton Street in Toronto and Halifax; the latter is a singularly beautiful love poem for an elderly lady.

Domanski is a gifted craftsman taking as much care in the ordering as in the making of his poems. This care, combined with his control of language, economy, and exploration of spiritual states that centre in real objects and experiences, results in a very fine book.