The dust of just beginning

Don Kerr knows prairie culture better than most, he knows it from the inside out. He has made us aware of ourselves through his numerous volumes of poetry, his fiction, his many plays, his histories, and his interest in heritage. In this mature, accomplished collection, we can once again admire his unique prairie voice: minimalist, self-effacing, direct yet subtle and nuanced, immersed in his love of the vernacular language of this place. His line is muscular, his timing impeccable, his broad strokes with so few words … exemplary.

About the Author

Don Kerr is the author of numerous poetry collections, plays, and short stories. He served on the Saskatoon Public Library Board for eleven years, and as chair for five of those years. He was the first chair of the Saskatoon Heritage Society and the first chair of the Saskatoon Municipal Heritage Committee. He was also the Saskatchewan governor for the Heritage Canada Foundation. He lives in Saskatoon.

Reviews

Kerr’s latest is beautifully designed, & full of sharp wit & the (necessary?) awareness of passing time & mortality that comes with age. … Kerr writes a vernacular open form that moves with ease across literary class lines, but always seeing clearly from below.

Eclectic Ruckus blog

Table of Contents

1. JUST BEGINNING
2. 11 a height of prairies
3. 12 Billy
4. 14 the lady gardener, Anne Szum
5. 15 the voice of Anne
6. 16 sun
7. 17 the jesus poems
8. 24 the body poems
9. 30 the waters of life
10. 31 what then is free?
11. 32 the rote beads
12. 33 the last day
13. 34 I told you I could drive
14. 35 Ila
15. 36 a memory
16. 37 oh then
17. 38 gone large gone small
18. 39 the dust of just beginning
20. FOR IT’S LOVE
21. 43 love poems
22. 48 mall
23. 49 body poems II, the black poet
25. JOURNEY MAN
26. 57 a fearful carnality
27. 58 lost and found
28. 59 my road
29. 60 the first day
30. 63 where are we going next year?
31. 64 to the tax man
32. 65 journey man
33. 66 you dream the poem
34. 67 tough terrain
35. 68 mind riding
36. 69 Blue River
38. WE ARE THE ECHO
39. 73 kelly’s alley
40. 74 hunting rabbits
41. 75 on the line
42. 76 summer south
43. 77 Cousin Lynda
44. 78 water boy
45. 79 we are the echo
46. 80 this is the day nothing happens
47. 81 body idling over
49. TO ESCAPE ONTO PAPER
50. 85 into the woods
51. 86 word off
52. 87 victim of story
53. 88 at the end of his fifth whiskey
54. 89 the dead tired poem
55. 90 the anonymous clouds
56. 91 never start from here
57. 92 Samuel Beckett
59. 95 acknowledgement[s]
60. 96 about the author

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 CA). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.