not knowing spanish

Andy Weaver

Andy Weaver's collection registers a new force to be reckoned with in contemporary Canadian writing. Reminiscent of a long tradition in Canadian poetry, from Cohen and Purdy, to Ondaatje and Kroetsch, Andy Weaver explores masculine-positioned desire with terse humour and subtle wit.

In an unaffected voice, Weaver has created a series of poems that speaks directly to that old ironic heart, with all the twang and bravado of a well-worn country singer.

One of the most stunning qualities of this work, however, is Weaver's acrobatic use of form. From Haiku-like precision to palindromes, from narrative to prose poems, from blazon to blues, not knowing spanish bears witness to the formal command, range, heart, soul and intelligence of a new name in Canadian writing.

andy weaver

Andy Weaver was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, and grew up there, Ottawa, Ontario, and in small towns outside of Edmonton, Alberta. During his MA, he served on the poetry editorial board of The Fiddlehead, and was co-founder and poetry editor of Qwerty magazine. Weaver’s poetry has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, and his first full length colleciton, were the bees, has just been published by NeWest Press (February 2005).

Read some of Andy's work in the archive...

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