Vermeer's Light: Poems 1996-2006

by George Bowering

George Bowering has always maintained many of his poems are germinated in secret ways—secrets he has, until now, assiduously kept to himself. In suddenly giving most of those secrets away, Vermeer’s Light, much of it written while Bowering was “in office” as Canada’s first Poet Laureate, constitutes an extraordinary gesture of generosity from a poet to his readership who has so honoured him. Its alphabet series A, You’re Adorable, by “Ellen Field,” a pseudonym Bowering often used in the 1990s; Imaginary Poems for AMB, addressed to his late wife Angela; He Is Not, a micro-translation of Shelley’s Adonais; Q&A, which dares to take on the most fundamental questions of the human condition with level-headed honesty and wit—the list of revelations and the pyrotechnics of Bowering’s craft presented here are spellbinding.

But the greatest astonishment about this celebratory collection from a poet at the height of his powers is that it contains all eight variations of “Grandfather,” Bowering’s most anthologized poem to date, set into an essay, Rewriting My Grandfather, like eight jewels in a crown at the end of the book. It is here that the poet presents his readers with a voyage of discovery; that the buried treasure of his invisible but adamantine craft is to be found; and the gift of entrance into how George Bowering creates his work is revealed.

Genres: Poetry, Canada

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

George Bowering was born and brought up in the Okanagan Valley, amid sand dunes and sagebrush, but he has lived in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta — great sources of hockey stars. Along the way he has stopped to write several books on baseball. He has also picked up Governor General’s Awards for his poetry and fiction, and otherwise been rewarded with prizes for his books, except in his home province of British Columbia. His earlier ECW book, His Life, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for 2000. He lives in Vancouver.

Reviews

[Harry Junior · Rating 3 out of 5]

An expansive collection. The works I liked, I really liked, but - much in the same way I refuse to like social media pictures involving cats - I can't allow myself to like poems written about sports. Especially golf. And sometimes the humour falls flat, or reads more like an attempt at humour made by a drunk uncle.

But still, there were some really beautiful gems in here too.

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always George Bowering is a poet with no boundaries. I always delight in his play on words and his experimental approach.

[Nick Milinazzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large portion of these poems are whimsical, tongue-in-cheek, and playful. There are a handful that are more somber or solemn, but otherwise Bowering is clearly a man who likes to play with words.