Be Labour Reading

Ronald Charles Epstein is a Toronto-based freelance writer and published poet.

Clint Burnham’s literary philosophy is summed up in writer Michael
Turner’s back-cover blurb, which suggests that this book emulates the
“Saturday Night piss-tank” by focusing on life’s uglier realities.
We are also warned: “This is a violent text.”

Violence here means beating the text into a state of incoherence. Like
a detective questioning an unintelligible assault victim, the reader is
left trying to interpret such lines as “Deal show & his height
drugging Leigh bah.” The few who can understand this phrase must
figure out how it applies to the poem’s theme, “Most Non-Lawyer
Canadian Citizens on the CBC.” However, accessibility is a mixed
blessing. The aptly titled “Gross Story” describes a “kid, about 7
or 8 who [is] Frenching Daddy.”

The most interesting poetic sequence is “Bad Date,” a
prostitute’s series of warnings about unusually strong heroin and
dangerous customers. This 1990s version of 1980s “found poetry”
presents a reality encountered en route to the Saturday Night piss-tank.
Rounding out the collection are more mainstream pieces such as “Magic
Mountain” and “I’ve Tasted Your Blood.” The latter’s title
evokes but does not duplicate poet Milton Acorn’s powerful populism.

All in all, this collection is uneven at best.