I've been introducing my students to the wonderful poetry of Al Purdy.
I love Purdy for his uncanny ability to personify Canadian landscapes in a way that is unsurpassed by any other poet. and also for his ability to draw himself, the poet, into the poem. When I think about Canadian poets I love, Purdy is at the top of the list having drinks with Klein, Cohen, and Layton.
I think my students have been picking up on my passion for Purdy, and that's all I could ever really want for. Hopefully Purdy makes them love poetry a little more.
I love Purdy for his uncanny ability to personify Canadian landscapes in a way that is unsurpassed by any other poet. and also for his ability to draw himself, the poet, into the poem. When I think about Canadian poets I love, Purdy is at the top of the list having drinks with Klein, Cohen, and Layton.
I think my students have been picking up on my passion for Purdy, and that's all I could ever really want for. Hopefully Purdy makes them love poetry a little more.
And now, I present a wonderful Purdy poem:
THE LAST PICTURE IN THE WORLD
Al Purdy
From: Beyond Remembering - The collected poems of Al Purdy. 2000.
From: Beyond Remembering - The collected poems of Al Purdy. 2000.
A hunched grey shape
framed by leaves
with lake water behind
standing on our
little point of land
like a small monk
in a green monastery
meditating
almost sculpture
except that it's alive
brooding immobile permanent
for half an hour
a blue heron
and it occurs to me
that if I were to die at this moment
that picture would accompany me
wherever I am going
for part of the way
framed by leaves
with lake water behind
standing on our
little point of land
like a small monk
in a green monastery
meditating
almost sculpture
except that it's alive
brooding immobile permanent
for half an hour
a blue heron
and it occurs to me
that if I were to die at this moment
that picture would accompany me
wherever I am going
for part of the way
