Parable Beach

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta. He is
the author of Calling Texas, Earth Prime, and Mind the Gap.

Rarely does a poet show such a grasp of Canadian history as Paddy
McCallum does in Parable Beach. John Newlove is the obvious predecessor.
McCallum writes poems about a number of historical figures: Thomas
Scott, who was executed by the Métis; the voyageur, Pierre-Йsprit
Radisson; the explorer George Jehosaphat Mountain; and the poet and
missionary, Henry Alline. One of his best poems is about David Thompson;
“Big Dog,” was adapted from his journals (when the Cree saw their
first horse, they thought it was an enormous dog).

McCallum also writes poems in the persona of early Canadian novelist
Emily Montague. His stylistic range is admirable and his tone is
absolutely certain. The depth of his knowledge has not restrained his
imagination.

This is a rich and revealing collection. McCallum is a ventriloquist,
but the voice is still his own.