Ribstones

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island and Honorary Chief of the Mi'kmaq of Prince Edward
Island.

In this short book of poems, George Melnyk reflects on the
meaningfulness of time past in terms of time present. Although he can be
joyful, tender, and sensuous, his prevailing mood, represented by such
poems as “Navajo” and “The Chileans” is both sombre and
questing; he “[sees] the skull beneath the skin,” as the book’s
striking front cover suggests. The brashness of a competing American
culture is effectively conveyed by short, terse statements and vivid,
precise images such as “sun-cancered flesh of glaciers.” Ribstones
is Melnyk’s first foray into poetry; may it not be his last.