The poems in this collection exhibit a unique blend of cunning and transformation, mirroring the elusive nature of their totem creature, the octopus. Through fluid imagery and innovative language, the verses explore themes of adaptability and change, inviting readers to engage with their multifaceted meanings. Each poem offers a rich, immersive experience that challenges perceptions and evokes a sense of wonder.
Exploring themes of communication and meaning, Patrick Warner's second poetry collection delves into diverse subjects, from exile and snow to marriage and insurance companies. The poems reveal the tension between language and reality, offering surprising insights and a surreal atmosphere. With works like "Capelin" and "Tortoise at Toronto Zoo," which garnered awards, the collection invites readers to reconsider their perceptions of the world, revealing its unexpected strangeness.
Stunned by an unexpected blockbuster art show, three plucky misfits cycle the Camino de Santiago-backward.
Like the mole of the title, Patrick Warner’s poems accomplish great feats while disguised as pleasingly modest creatures of accident and stealth. But whereas moles mine the soil, Mole mines the rich depths of imagination, empathy, and insight. A Newfoundlander, Warner takes the richness of his land's distinctive argot and singular humor, crafting a strange, dreamlike world that sharpens our perception of this one. A moral poet, and one fully engaged with his people and home, Warner can be read both seriously and for pure enjoyment by anyone, anywhere. As with the best poets, he takes overlooked corners and negligible objects, turning them into prisms, portals, tuning forks, and flint rocks. What we thought was the case may well turn out to be otherwise. This is a collection that is bracing, pleasing, and thoroughly rewarding.
48 Phot. v. Andersch, Michael. Vorw. Andersch, Alfred. N.-A.