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South of North: Images of Canada by Richard Outram with drawings by Thoreau MacDonald
Selected by Anne Corkett and Rosemary Kilbourn
Published by The Porcupine’s Quill, 2007
Reviewed by Colleen McKie
This wonderful little book is a combination of descriptive, down-to-earth poems by Richard Outram and true to life sketches by Thoreau MacDonald. As soon as I picked it up, I was captivated by the visuals of both the words and the art. This book captures moments of Canadian life – its people, wildlife and scenery.
Outram has, perhaps, the best usage of alliteration I have ever read. An excellent example of this is in his poem The Horses of Bonavista (p 19):
The horses of Bonavista pick their deliberate, delicate way
Between sprawled stonepiles, graze between stone shelves.
His poems are full of vibrant snapshots of Canada. There is a depth to his descriptive poetry that I really enjoyed. Whether describing geese flying or a farm wife in the kitchen, I felt like I was there.
MacDonald’s sketches may seem rudimentary at first, but once you really take a close look at them, they are beautiful in their simplicity. My favorite appears on page 58. It is a sketch of a fox looking into the woods. Your eyes almost skim over it, but then stop as you notice the two birds perched in a tree. It’s small details like this that make his artwork so special.
For anyone with an interest in Canadian rural life and nature, this is a must read. I really enjoyed it, and know that from time to time I will be going back to it.
For more information on South of North, please visit the publisher's website.
Did you read Outram's South of North? |
