A Tantrum of Synonyms

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

Toronto poet Heather Cadsby has had considerable experience with both
live and published poetry for the past two decades. She helped organize
poetry readings at Toronto’s Axle-Tree Coffee House and currently
serves as an adviser for the local Art Bar Poetry Series.

The poems in Cadsby’s latest collection exhibit a masterful use of
perspective. In “January 1991,” the Gulf War is viewed through the
eyes of a special education teacher. Her student Wayne is “a kid in
trouble” who wonders “what if / a scud hits Wilcox school?” This
poem subtly illustrates how emotional disturbance skews one’s sense of
proportion.

Such original social commentary is one of this book’s assets. Many
people have criticized “TV ethics,” but few have used house pets to
do so. Cadsby’s dogs and cats offer nonjudgmental love, but lack the
ability to distinguish between brand names. Apparently, we should follow
their example and focus on life’s simple pleasures instead of on
television commercials.

She also sets up interesting situations. In “The downbeat is
anywhere,” a suicidal woman lies down on Front Street, only to be
pelted by a bag lady; the narrator surveys the damage and speculates on
her attacker’s motives.

Cadsby’s literary style can be adventurous. In “Haiku Blues,” she
strings seven haikus together to form a blues lyric. “The music”
defies classification—is it a prose poem or a “short-short” story?


Readers of this collection will appreciate the poet’s lively
intelligence and unique insights.