Reconcilable Differences: The Changing Face of Poetry by Canadian Men Since 1970

Don Precosky teaches English at the College of New Caledonia and is the
co-editor of Four Realities: Poets of Northern B.C.

These poems, written by Canadian men since 1970, express the effects of
feminism on their lives and works through their new attitude and subject
matter. In his introduction, Levenson implies that the women’s
movement has been a watershed of sorts for male writers and that it is
possible to identify those who reflect a new, enlightened attitude as
well as those who are stuck in the old, pre-feminist past. Of the
latter, “people such as Earle Birney, Irving Layton, Al Purdy, Leonard
Cohen, and Patrick Lane ... seem almost consciously to be fighting a
rearguard action against what could be perceived as the literary
encroachments of the best younger women writers.” Of the former, he
notices “a tone of voice and the changing assumptions behind that
tone. The voices are mostly quiet, unassertive, vulnerable, sympathetic,
understanding, meditative.” The new attitude he claims to see could be
characterized as less ego-driven, more concerned with relationships, and
more family-centred.

Particularly impressive are the poems by David Zieroth, Claude Liman,
Martin Singleton, and especially George Elliott, a writer who is not
afraid to reject traditional macho stoicism in favor of an open
affirmation of life: “Wipe away tears / Set free your fears: /
Everything is free. / Only the lonely / Need much money: / Everything is
free.”