CM Magazine: Images of Nature: Canadian Poets and the Group of Seven

________________ CM . . . . Volume I Number 17 . . . . October 6, 1995

Images of Nature: Canadian Poets and the Group of Seven
Selected by David Booth.
Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1995.
32pp, cloth, $18.95.
ISBN 1-55074-272-8.

Subject Headings:
Group of Seven (Group of artists).
Nature-Juvenile poetry.
Painting, Canadian.

All grades / All ages.
Review by Lorraine Douglas.

excerpt:

Summer by Robert Melancon (translated by P. Stratford)
Sun binds down
lilacs stirred by wind;
each leaf holds up
the whole sky. A warbler,
brief fruit, shakes loose
a rush of blue.

The sense of where we belong in the Canadian landscape has inspired our painters and poets. This collection of twenty-three poems includes word images by Atwood, Colombo, Souster, Birney, and Cohen. They are matched with the paintings of the Group of Seven to create a wonderful tribute to art and letters in Canada.

Images of Nature is reminiscent of the Winnipeg Art Gallery's exhibition "Animals in Art," in which paintings and complementary excerpts from literature were presented together. The approach creates a thoughtful viewing experience, and a rich appreciation of the beauty of the artistic interpretations of our land.

Teachers will find a variety of appealing poetry for use with students, including an Inuit song and a shape poem.

The book concludes with a brief description of the Group of Seven and a catalogue of the paintings reproduced. David Booth, a professor at the University of Toronto, has created another excellent anthology.

Highly recommended.

Lorraine Douglas is Youth Services Coordinator for the Winnipeg Public Library.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - October 6, 1995.