This was written and published by a classmate of mine in college, and I bought a copy from brokepress, run by Clare Thiessen, who graduated from the Writing and Publishing program before me.

Read: February 8, 2023

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A Little Piece of BC

I’ve admitted before that I’m not much of a poetry buff, but I wanted to buy this book to support a fellow classmate. I’ve read through these poems a few times now, and I gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for them each time.

It’s a collection of island poems, meaning Vancouver Island off the west coat of British Columbia. One poem even makes mention of Victoria, and while I’ve never been to Vancouver Island myself, many of the same imagery and experiences can be found in other cities in BC. I am reminded of the times I’ve visited Vancouver with my family, and of sitting in the cafes around Kelowna with my friends.

There are ten poems in all, following a common theme. The title takes after the final poem of the same name, and while I do not understand the meaning behind all of the poem titles, most make sense to me. It is a good collection of poems for beginning poetry readers, as they aren’t too deep or too concrete, but a pleasant balance of the two.

I think this book really captures the essence of BC and everyday life. Nothing overly dramatic happens; it’s calm and serene, living in the moment. While I don’t drink coffee, a few of the poems mention it and I’m sure it’s highly relatable to people that do.

Again, the imagery is vivid; I could clearly picture everything that the poet spoke of in her work, and I could feel the different emotions that each poem exuded.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of poetry chapbooks, and poetry in general. I also recommend poetry lovers to keep up with Clare Thiessen’s work on Instagram and with Sofia Fedorova’s poetry.

Other Poetry Reviews:

Inferno by Dante Alighieri
The Pin-Thief and the Sunflowers by Sofia Federova
*Maggot Dance by G.O. Kayode*
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
*North Star Heart by Natasha Silva*
Embers: one Ojibway’s Meditations by Richard Wagamese
Beowulf by unknown