Comet Wine is a book of poems, not a collection of poems. Although it does not have a traditional narrative, it certainly does have an imaginative thread. It invites the reader to be, as s/he reads and experiences, the needle and thread that connects them. Comet Wine begins with ‘Prelude (A Poet’s Work)’: “What is the poet’s Work?/And why and oh why and oh why;” a job description that immediately makes it clear that this is not a 9-5 position. And by the end of the list we learn that it is above all “To write poems/That are misunderstood.” The reader is orbited around the theme of love: poetic, personal, cosmic, sexual, sensual, unrequited, comic and tragic, in a way that only a poet can and may.
News & Reviews
“Taylor is unabashedly erudite… wild and magical… Her poems teem with mythical and literary allusions. Words spill out onto the page like secretions, as sinuous, sensuous and challenging.” —Montreal Gazette
About the Author
Ruth Taylor was born in Lachine, Quebec in 1961. She earned her BA in English Literature from McGill University and her Master’s in Creative Writing from Concordia University. Ruth was the author of three poetry collections: The Drawing Board, The Dragon Papers (which was a finalist for the A.M. Klein prize for poetry,) and Comet Wine. She was an active participant in Montreal’s literary scene from 1979 until her death in 2006.
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