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Threadbare
A collection of 13 poems by a London, Ontario poet, fiction writer, and multi-disciplinary artist.
36 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2019
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August 15, 2023
baseline press is known for its artistic, hand-stitched, limited-edition chapbooks, and Síle Englert’s "Threadbare" is indeed a treasured keepsake, wrapped in a beautiful package.
Printed on Royal Sundance Linen 24 lb. and bound in a cover of St. Armand Canal paper with a flyleaf of handmade Nepalese paper, this 2019 chapbook aptly showcases 13 highly original (and powerfully written) poems as well as the attention-grabbing cover art by Englert.
For those who are unfamiliar with Englert’s work, this London, Ontario poet is also a multidisciplinary artist known for collages and this collection’s cover with the patchwork swatches and stitched lines of the female body acts as a powerful motif for her written words.
In the poem “Backstich”, the poet pens “making seams of places where memory meets bone” and in the poem “Body of Nude Woman Found at Life Drawing Exhibit” the words “this woman is a tangle not a tapestry”.
As a fan of Englert’s work, I was pleased to weave through all her complex layers (detailed and rich in language) as the poet explored powerful and startling themes of life and death through the inclusion of nature (trees, tiger lilies, dogs, moths, bees), art (models, Rube Goldberg, Ruth Marsh), and the human form (skin, hands, knees, mouths, tongues, eyes, and bones).
I also noted, great use of the five senses including sound, “susurrus, murmuration, sigh/his voice is wasp-wings/twisted, papery hum drone/from malfunctioning telephone lines,” the “dry, powdery eggshell-bitter” taste of snacking on a cabbage moth, and the “wet chemical sizzle” scent of “a doll melting into a bonfire”.
Not always an easy read (due to some of the subject matter and the need to read some of the work more slowly to decipher multiple meanings) but a great introduction to a talented poet worth watching.
Printed on Royal Sundance Linen 24 lb. and bound in a cover of St. Armand Canal paper with a flyleaf of handmade Nepalese paper, this 2019 chapbook aptly showcases 13 highly original (and powerfully written) poems as well as the attention-grabbing cover art by Englert.
For those who are unfamiliar with Englert’s work, this London, Ontario poet is also a multidisciplinary artist known for collages and this collection’s cover with the patchwork swatches and stitched lines of the female body acts as a powerful motif for her written words.
In the poem “Backstich”, the poet pens “making seams of places where memory meets bone” and in the poem “Body of Nude Woman Found at Life Drawing Exhibit” the words “this woman is a tangle not a tapestry”.
As a fan of Englert’s work, I was pleased to weave through all her complex layers (detailed and rich in language) as the poet explored powerful and startling themes of life and death through the inclusion of nature (trees, tiger lilies, dogs, moths, bees), art (models, Rube Goldberg, Ruth Marsh), and the human form (skin, hands, knees, mouths, tongues, eyes, and bones).
I also noted, great use of the five senses including sound, “susurrus, murmuration, sigh/his voice is wasp-wings/twisted, papery hum drone/from malfunctioning telephone lines,” the “dry, powdery eggshell-bitter” taste of snacking on a cabbage moth, and the “wet chemical sizzle” scent of “a doll melting into a bonfire”.
Not always an easy read (due to some of the subject matter and the need to read some of the work more slowly to decipher multiple meanings) but a great introduction to a talented poet worth watching.
Displaying 1 of 1 review