Closer to Where We Began

by Lisa Richter

Lisa Richter’s Closer to Where We Began is a diverse collection of poetry that follows the speaker on a path of self-discovery. The collection navigates the tension between memory and imagination, between the personal and the political, and the primacy of sensual, sensory, lived experience. These dream-like poems not only concern themselves with the speaker, but with urban and natural environments, friends, family, and lovers, past and present. The poet explores overlapping/intersecting identities that shape and inform us, celebrating the importance of telling our stories as a means of bringing us closer to our authentic selves.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2017

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several lines in this book gave me poem shiver; some poems like “Disbelief” made me ache with compassion, while others like “Ouroboros” made me smile in recognition. These are the poems of the flâneuse, they wander from the Sinai desert to the wine dark Seine to the peaks of a mountain in BC. They are earthy and compassionate poems. They exude sensuality. They are rich with colour and history. They are gypsy, witch, shapeshifting, gothy teenage and hedonistic poems. They are feisty and fun, thoughtful and a joy to read. I have dog-eared a lot of the pages.

[Lynn Tait · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lines in these poems are so polished, yet there is a wildness to them. Her descriptions hold you and don't let go. The imagery right from the first poem Inscription you are included, and invited to join her travels, her journeys, the people in her life. Too many great lines to choose from to note here. Poems: Long Exposure; One Eye Open; Safety Measures; Hold and Press Eject; The Miscreant Speaks; the Toronto poems (my home town),How to Write a Hanukkah Poem; Unauthorized; Guest Unannounced and on and on. The book never lets up and ends just as strong as it began.

[James Hawes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book full of travel, love, memory with an almost hallucinatory sensory quality. A book to get lost in, in the best sense of the word.

[mobot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today I woke up early to a snow-covered city. Fluff continuing to pile up, streets quiet. I curled up with green tea and Lisa Richter's incredible new book of poems. WOW. Weaving patterns of urban, natural, sensual, sensory, intimate, reflective... I consumed the whole thing in one sitting. Highly recommended