Mind the Gap

Chris Knight is the managing editor of the Canadian HR Reporter.

Bert Almon’s poetry is deeply rooted in place—from Texas in 1950 to
the house of a friend to the site of an ancient city or battle—and in
the modest failures and triumphs of individuals. The humorous and
lyrical pieces that make up this collection comment wryly on places and
people without stooping to ridicule or caricature.

One poem features a complaint to the Duke of Norfolk about a souvenir
mug: “I put one in the microwave to reheat my coffee / and the
gold-painted rims didn’t even spark / How the Howards have declined /
when their gilding isn’t gilded!” “The Microsoft Word Spell Check
Reads Canadian Poetry” puts the names of Ondaatje, Purdy, and other
Canadian poets through the wringer of an American spell checker. Other
poems vibrantly illuminate the human condition. On the death of a
friend, Almon writes, “the heart that never failed anyone failed
him,” while in “Musee de Cluny” he notes, “The mind, like the
heart / in its cavity / leans slightly left.”

The depth of these poems comes from their intricate blending of place,
memory, emotion, and humor; even in their seriousness, they provoke a
smile.