Aqueduct

Description

406 pages
$19.95
ISBN 1-55128-032-9
DDC C811'.54

Publisher

Year

1996

Contributor

Reviewed by Edward L. Edmonds

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.

Review

Gerry Shikatani’s poems are characterized by idiosyncratic punctuation
and formidable

scholarship (the endnotes he supplies are excellent but all too brief).

This modern Renaissance man moves easily between both official
languages of Canada. His tangential “switching” of thought exhibits
a gnomic terseness reminiscent of Japanese haiku. One experimental
“plate” is strangely evocative of that great engraver William Blake.
Much local color is reflected in the different countries visited, not
least in the frequent dietary references.

A well-versed gourmet, Shikatani is not without a quiet sense of humor.
The first-rate “Exterior Facade,” he tells us, is based largely on a
tourist information leaflet.

Citation

Shikatani, Gerry., “Aqueduct,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed October 13, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/4169.