The novel explores themes of disappearance and surveillance through a diverse cast of characters, highlighting the tension between personal tragedies and societal issues. With a blend of suspense and moral depth, it reflects on the emotional scars of individuals and the deliberate invisibility of marginalized communities. Helwig's debut weaves a narrative that captures the complexities of urban life and the ease with which people can be lost in a politically charged environment, reminiscent of the works of Ondaatje and Greene.
With generous selections from earlier, critically acclaimed full-length collections like Talking Prophet Blues and Eating Glass, as well as work from landmark underground chapbooks like Because the Gunman and Graffiti for JJ Harper, this collection presents, for the first time, the range and scope of Maggie Helwig’s unique and inspiring poetry. Spanning two decades, and including new and never-before collected material, One Building In The Earth presents Helwig’s thematic and poetic trajectory in ways that make her stunning political and spiritual insight a cornerstone of contemporary Canadian literature. One Building In The Earth includes “Hunger and the Watchmen” ― a celebrated poetic reconsideration of Simone Weil ― in its entirety. It, like many of Helwig’s best- known works, while recently out-of-print, take on a vital new life in this collection. Whether exploring the relationship between the city and the body, our collective longing for mercy or grace, or the possibility of our lives being cherished ― despite history and war and the damage we sometimes do to one another ― Maggie Helwig pushes the limits and sets new poetic these are words that matter.
Maggie Helwig's stunning British debut is an extraordinary war novel, a
poignant and gripping story about the ripples that carry on long after the
fighting is over, and about two people kept apart by history, ethics and human
frailty.
