Good find

I have never heard of the poet BJ Ward. The cover of the book ’Jackleg Opera’ with its exposed piano is like Billy Collin’s poem ‘Building with its face blown off’. Rubberneckers welcome.

My favourite is ‘Upon learning that hearts can become stones’. It is easy to relate with poems that have a tangible inspiration. This poem triggered by a newspaper clipping is a good example of his enchanting poetry. For a beginner poet just coming to the acceptance or realization of this metaphor would be the start and the end, while the poet here draws out the evolution of hearts to stone through the channel of life and language.

In most poems, the lines are of equal length but the pacing of words split the lines in the readers mind while reading. Visually the poems have a formal long line look. But the verbs in the middle break the line causing the illusion of bite size literature. There is the occasional Emily Dickinson style dashes. Often I would auto read the poems and then go back to the beginning of the poem to make sure, I didn’t miss anything.

Most of BJWard’s poems address a definite subject ranging from banal like stapler to universal like love. It could be a turtle, answering machine, cats, lovers, absence, unavailable father. Father poems steer clear of bitter but not without leaving a chilling effect. Many of literary figures too show up for some humour.

Having been a poet for more than 2 decades, poetry workshops and book tours too find find place in the book. In one such, the poet compares writing poetry to skiing

‘spreading easily across white surfaces,

Making our way from one margin to the other

And leaving marks-‘