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Ignoring The Bomb
Book by Kearns, Lionel
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 17, 2024
I bought this book for $4 when Batu was showing me the Victoria College bookstore. The cover and the name were calling me. I cannot express how grateful I am for picking up this fine collection of poems.
Kearns definitely wants to resonate with its reader as he repetitively says something along the lines, "I will become you, and you will become I." How nice writing...
The following are some of my favourite poems by Lionel Kearns, found in this book and my shortened thoughts:
- Silences: This one reminded me of Franz Kafka and how he never found his writing to be "good enough." What an embarrassment it is to write.
- Intimations: Love is everywhere. The way they laugh, the specific order they get dresses, the lines they underline on a book, their eyes... It is the beauty of everyday life. Here is a quotation from my essay on Paterson (2016): "Whether it is a love poem sparked by the logo on a box of Ohio Blue Tip matches or his reflection on the simple pleasures of being home, Paterson’s poems signify how art can emerge from the fabric of everyday existence." Amazing film, by the way.
- The Old Routine: Everything changes but everything also stays the same and there is nothing we can do about it. How devastating.
- Abstractions: The poem says it all.
- Meditation: I will come back to this.
- Now: The present is everything we have and it is so scary to think about.
- Explanation: So many thoughts on this one that I cannot write them down. Note: It is currently 3AM and I got home at 11PM after working from 12PM to 10PM. I am really tired.
- Death: This kind of sums up where my anxiety comes from. Not all of it, but some parts of it.
- The Answer
- Manitoulin Poem: This has to be my favourite poem of this book. Long because it needs to be long. My thoughts on it are also long. I started writing a long review on this but just now, I decided to keep it to myself. The world is scary and I have sudden moments where I believe I know everything about life and death but I also know I do not. Everything is a new experience and everyday is precious but wasted by me. I don't think I will ever be satisfied with anything.
Kearns definitely wants to resonate with its reader as he repetitively says something along the lines, "I will become you, and you will become I." How nice writing...
The following are some of my favourite poems by Lionel Kearns, found in this book and my shortened thoughts:
- Silences: This one reminded me of Franz Kafka and how he never found his writing to be "good enough." What an embarrassment it is to write.
- Intimations: Love is everywhere. The way they laugh, the specific order they get dresses, the lines they underline on a book, their eyes... It is the beauty of everyday life. Here is a quotation from my essay on Paterson (2016): "Whether it is a love poem sparked by the logo on a box of Ohio Blue Tip matches or his reflection on the simple pleasures of being home, Paterson’s poems signify how art can emerge from the fabric of everyday existence." Amazing film, by the way.
- The Old Routine: Everything changes but everything also stays the same and there is nothing we can do about it. How devastating.
- Abstractions: The poem says it all.
- Meditation: I will come back to this.
- Now: The present is everything we have and it is so scary to think about.
- Explanation: So many thoughts on this one that I cannot write them down. Note: It is currently 3AM and I got home at 11PM after working from 12PM to 10PM. I am really tired.
- Death: This kind of sums up where my anxiety comes from. Not all of it, but some parts of it.
- The Answer
- Manitoulin Poem: This has to be my favourite poem of this book. Long because it needs to be long. My thoughts on it are also long. I started writing a long review on this but just now, I decided to keep it to myself. The world is scary and I have sudden moments where I believe I know everything about life and death but I also know I do not. Everything is a new experience and everyday is precious but wasted by me. I don't think I will ever be satisfied with anything.
Displaying 1 of 1 review