Mapping the Chaos

Eugenia Sojka teaches English at the Memorial University of
Newfoundland.

Rhea Tregebov’s fourth book of predominantly philosophical poems poses
the question “Why is there something rather than nothing?”

After positioning herself in the urban space of Toronto, with its
indifferent citizens, sad musicians, and frustrated and abused women,
the writer maps her place in the world (“What Is to Be Done”) and in
the inexplicable universe (“The Big Picture”). She reflects on her
Jewish heritage (“Country & Western”) ; ponders the meaning of
change, loss, and grief (“Summer, 1991”); contemplates urban
alienation and danger (“Bathurst Station”); and considers the
meaning of time (“At or Above the Earth’s Surface”). Her
existential musings lead her to a theory of anti-chaos, a philosophical
system concerned with life rather than nothingness.

Written in powerful, fresh language that basks in irony, Mapping the
Chaos is a complete and fascinating intellectual journey.