Passage of time in Prairie landscape inspires Sask. poet
Regina poet Anne Campbell was surprised by what she found when she revisited some of her writing from the past 30 years.
Looking back on previous works was part of the process she went through to select the poems for her new book, The Fabric of Day.
"There were five books and they all, unknown to me, were dealing with different things in each book, even though the context — the prairie and the land and time — was the same," said Campbell.
"So I think there was a lot about love, a lot about love lost.
"I think I was surprised to see the compassion with which I treated my own and others' foolishness."
Time is 'Fabric of Day'
The new book takes its name from one of her work's recurring themes.
Time, she said, is the fabric of day she refers to in the title.
Although she was not writing specifically about age, she saw age coming into her works as she read through the writings of her younger self.
"I guess, like many younger people, I could see that I was exploring," she said.
Being human at a deeper level
Campbell believes all of her pursuits, including her work as a library administrator and a social justice advocate, were about being human at a deeper level.
The Prairie landscape also features heavily in Campbell's work. Her poem, Driving Home Yesterday, is about one of many days spent driving between Regina and Saskatoon.
"People talk about those drives without anything there and I'm always completely baffled because I find that prairie and that golden land so full of what allows us to be alive," said Campbell.
The Fabric of Day will be launched Thursday evening at Regina's MacKenzie Gallery.
