An Oak Hunch

The title of An Oak Hunch comes from one of the sequences in this five-sequence book of poems: Phil Hall?s homage to a poetic mentor, Al Purdy. Its subtitle is ?Essay on Purdy,? and these highly original, highly personal takes on the poetry and the life of Al Purdy ?essay? in the root sense of the word: attempt or probe. The other four sequences, ?The Interview,? ?Mucked Rushes,? ?Gang Pluck? and ?Index of First Lines? are also probes, each of a different sort, written in a language that stretches the denotative values of words. Phil Hall is as leftist as he ever was, but his recent books like Trouble Sleeping have also been adventures in language. His writing shines with a new economy reminiscent of that of some of the so-called ?language poets.? Sometimes the poems ofAn Oak Hunch carry a narrative, sometimes they are leaping and lyrical, but they are all composed of word-music that connects the ear and the heart.

Shortlisted for the 2006 Griffin Poetry Prize and longlisted for the 2006 ReLit Awards