New Releases by E. D. Blodgett

A bilingual collection of renga poetry by two of Canada's most celebrated poets in English and in French, each writing in his respective language in response to the other. A project of discourse itself, shared in dialogue between two poets, as they explore Novalis’ definition of poetry as “the truly absolute real.” The poetic act is world-changing, the agglomeration of atoms as they fall through space – a sort of “elective affinity”, or state of grace – to constitute Being. If Lao Tzu reminds us that the Dao that can be named is not the eternal Dao, this renga, suffused with elements of the natural world, also recognizes that, in the words of Angelus Silesius, ‘‘the unnameable, which we usually call God, is expressed and revealed through the Word.’’ Léveillé and Bloggett share an unprecedented dialogue that possesses both paradox and complete clarity of word in Canada's two official languages.

Reflecting Edmonton's unique multicultural ambience, E. D. Blodgett wrote these poems in English and French, and had several translated into Cree, Michif, Chinese, and Ukranian. The powerful images and thoughtful metaphors in these short lyrics show readers the connections between nature, even within city limits, and the sublime, especially in the overwhelming silence we can sense outdoors--if we pay attention.

Blodgett suggests that each of the several 'national' groups that compose Canada develops unique narratives that demonstrate their different responses to the notion of nationhood and their sense of place within Canada's borders.

Enhanced with illustrations by Montreal poet, novelist, translator and essayist Jacques Brault, this is a collection of meditative quatrains that strive to embrace the universe, one piece at a time, celebrating natural and animal life.

"Antonio Machado said, 'Every poet should create for himself a metaphysics which he need not expound, but which will lie implicit in his work.' What lies implicit in "Apostrophes III: alone upon the earth, is a deep belief in the sacredness of the moment, the voices of that moment. E.D. Blodgett's poetry gives us revelations, the depth of human experience when we 'pass into ourselves, ' the silence of ourselves, stillness and rapture, 'the sleeping that we are.' Here is the grace of seeing and listening, the ecstasy of understanding. Here is being and time, both roses rising through flesh. "(Don Domanski)

"Transfiguration is an unusual book. It is a rare merging of Canada's French and English literatures. Its creation in renga form involved alternating poems and poem responses by the authors, each written in the author's mother tongue. Once finished, the authors then translated each other's work producing truly bilingual creation that was co-published by a French and an English publisher. But more than this "Transfiguration is a beautiful book, a book of exquisite art and poetry.

Studie over het werk van de Canadese schrijfster (geb. 1931)

This lively and diverse bilingual collection of essays by writers and critics examines contemporary Canadian literary arts. The perspectives range from highly personal and introspective to scholarly and objective, yet each adds significantly to an understanding of the dialogue between writers and readers. Proceedings from a workshop held at the Calgary Institute for the Humanities during the summer of 1982, the volume includes such contributors as E.D. Blodgett, Jacques Brault, Richard Giguère, D.G. Jones, Myrna Kostash, Peter Stevens, Aritha van Herk, and Christopher Wiseman. The collection will naturally be of interest to any student of Canadian literature, but the essays also forcefully address, both explicitly and implicitly, the question of a nationalism of the arts, an issue of great importance to performers and critics in many fields.