scars on th seehors

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.

bill bissett has a special place in Canadian literature—perhaps, as a
wag once said, as its token hippie. He has published at least 68 books.
They are mostly in the same format: stream-of-consciousness reflections
on daily experiences and visionary themes written in a loose style
marked by more or less phonetic spellings. The opening lines of the
title poem “scars on th seehors” are typical: “is riding sew hi n
proud ovr / the waves uv clouds n nite.” There is no attempt to create
a reformed English spelling here, just a kind of whimsy. Concrete poems
and drawings by the author are mingled with the more typical
“poetree.” The work shows a sameness of style and attitude, no
matter what the subject.

It would be pointless to offer a critique of these poems, which have
the support of the Canada Council and appear in luxurious editions from
a respected West Coast publisher. There must be a readership of some
sort for them, though it would be surprising if anyone could read every
word of bissett’s orthographically challenged ramblings.