Pile of Poems

The lifetime presented in Joan Canby's Pile of Poems reveals keen awareness of human nature. A delightful mélange of autobiography, poems of place, and philosophical reflections, the book opens with her California childhood, in which family, brown-skinned workers, and even the lemons, oranges, and avocados play a part. Lines shine with unhurried style, taut diction, and quiet artistry. Haiku strategically placed among the longer poems give us moments to pause, sigh, and reflect. "Moon Secrets" ends with the line, "We live in an onion-layer time." This summarizes the book, which peels back time layer by layer, one moment revealing empathy for a failing student, another the loneliness of rejection, yet another, the joy brought by a mockingbird's song. What a sumptuous poetic feast! -Ann Howells, former editor, Illya's Honey and author, Painting the Pinwheel SkyJoan Canby's Pile of Poems is a carefully compiled and well-crafted gift. In poems like "Tractor" and "Cancion de Amor," Canby reveals details like secrets, leading readers into the core of her soul. In "Trees," she writes, "When my parents left farming, sold / the land, bulldozers arrived. No hymns were sung for the / trees we planted. A family's legacy / once trees. A family turned rootless, roots unbound. In / Dante's Inferno suicides languish in Hell as trees. / Today I root / roses." Full of anguish and wisdom, this book, by example, gives permission to examine our own lives and share. Ending with, "The Week After Human Beings Had Departed the Earth," Pile of Poems captures an essence of what it means to be human and, by nature, vulnerable. -Yvette A. Schnoeker-Shorb, author, Shapes That Stay and cofounder, Native West PressJoan Canby reminds us what poetry is for. While she offers images from a difficult life - with fallen heroes, the death of a loved one, hints of war, songs of betrayal, and overt misogyny - she shows us hope and resilience. Full of pauses, transitions, silences, and crossroads, she shows us the immense possibilities for transcendence through hard-earned wisdom, perseverance, and old-fashioned survival. Canby presents ruminations that evolve into strength, simply by moving forward and writing it all down. At its heart, Pile of Poems is a musical, lilting, sometimes roaring, celebration of a life well-lived and a woman who came through it all with something vital to say. -Gerard Collins, Ph.D., author, The Hush Sisters and Finton Moon