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Islands Lovelier than a Vision
Cyril Dabydeen's poems deal with the experience of living within two cultures, a present of the cool landscapes and growing security of Canada, and a past of tropical poverty and disorder experienced in the Corentyne district of Guyana.
Price
£7.99
Author(s)
Cyril Dabydeen
ISBN number
9780948833021
Pages
84
Price
£7.99
Classification
Poetry
Country setting
Canada
Guyana
Publication date
01 Oct 1986
Yet even as the poems record a growing immersion in the textures of Canadian life, memories of Guyana surface with stubborn persistence, feeding his complex sensibility. What he achieves is a vision of the interpenetration of the two landscapes, a doubleness of seeing which is richly rewarding.
'Dabydeen grew up in Guyana and his ability to speak from both Caribbean and Canadian contexts gives much of his work its power. He's at his best here in his expansive voice - an exciting collection.' Bronwen Wallace, The Ottawa Citizen.
'The poet displays a narrative gift that seems to root his poetry securely in the actual rather than the abstract - the poetry achieves a complexity of tone and attitude' Jeffrey Robinson, Journal of West Indian Literature.
Variations
Cyril Dabydeen
Cyril Dabydeen teaches Creative Writing at the University of Ottawa, and is a former Poet Laureate of Ottawa (1984-87). His work has appeared in over 60 literary magazines and anthologies world-wide. He has done more than 300 readings internationally and has twice adjudicated for the Governor General's Award (Poetry) and the USA Neustadt International Prize for Literature (UOklahoma) in 2000.