The Girl from Ermita and Selected Poems, 1961-1998

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 selection of his poems, the author, a medical doctor by
profession, reflects on his experience of life, traversing in the
process country, continent, and culture. His mood ranges from melancholy
and grief, to puzzlement with life, to a continuing joy in family and
friendships old and new. The love poem to his wife Margaret is that of a
mature, devoted husband. It is to her the book is dedicated.

The English language is notable for its burgeoning wealth of
vocabulary, and the author shows himself an apt student. In places he
turns to more indigenous phrasing to convey local flavor and nuance of
meaning (wisely, he appends a glossary of terminology used). Throughout,
he adopts a familiar raconteur style of delivery—easy, pensive,
conversational, even scatological on rare occasions. “Stars like white
ants” and “skeletal smoke” are examples of this poet’s gift for
flashes of evocative imagery.