Confluences

Flowing from multiple streams, the poems in Confluences are Allan Briesmaster's most wide-ranging and artistically adventurous work yet. The first of the book's four contrasting parts gives poetic reflections on what has come down to us from ancient times, including the insights of pre-Socratic philosophers such as Thales and Heraclitus. The second, “Impress of Waters,” features diverse encounters with the Canadian eco-scape; while in the third section, a fierce intelligence takes a stern view of climate change and other matters ranging from the anatomy of human emotion to the first moon landing forty years after. In the final section, the creations of eminent writers like Rilke, Alberti, Bonnefoy, and Jaccottet are confronted and drawn from: in a variety of adaptations and homages treating such familiar subjects as friendship, love, and aging in unconventional ways. All of the poems are distinguished by sensuously layered language, virtuosity in form and style, and a questing spirit, both passionate and philosophical.

Allan Briesmaster is a freelance editor, publisher, literary consultant, and the nationally known author of ten previous books of poetry, including Interstellar (Quattro Books, 2007). He was centrally involved in organizing the popular weekly Art Bar Poetry Reading Series from its beginnings in 1991 until 2002, and has been a host and organizer of many other literary events in the Toronto area since then. As an editor working with several literary presses, Allan has been instrumental in the production of more than sixty books of poetry and non-fiction since 1998. In 2008 he co-edited the ground-breaking anthology Crossing Lines: Poets Who Came to Canada in the Vietnam War Era for Seraphim Editions.