Article by Alana Power – The Londoner
Crow takes flight: Cornelia Hoogland launches new
book
By Alana Power Londoner
Posted 1 day ago
The London poet has released a new book of poetry, Crow, published by Windsor’s Black Moss Press.
“In the gravel margins of the Trans Canada, and in the backyards and alleys of my many homes in cities across Canada, raven’s poor cousin, crow, has been excellent company,” Hoogland said.
Research for the book of poetry was funded partially by a grant from Western University, where Hoogland, an associate professor, has taught at the Faculty of Education for 20 years.
In her application for the grant, Hoogland identified eight landscapes in which to study and write crow poems. They included the ocean on Vancouver Island, fruit trees in Kelowna, wheat fields outside of Calgary, and Toronto and Montreal where the birds “persevere under assaults to their environment and their culture,” among others.
With the grant, Hoogland was able to visit these locations, and spots along the TransCanada Highway, for research.
Hoogland said that she is interested in the crow because he’s a big, bad, noisy bird.
“He makes himself very visible to us,” she said. “Whenever I hear a crow I look up.”
Looking up at crows in the sky can be a good thing, she said, as people are often immersed in their handheld devices such as iPods or Blackberries.
Poems in Crow use the bird’s motif to write about subjects such as pain, hardship and doubt, and family, among others.
As well as being a professor and writer, Hoogland is the founder and artistic director of Poetry London, a group that brings eight to 10 poets a year from across Canada to London for readings. The organization also holds workshops for the literary and poetic community in London.
According to Hoogland, there is a busy poetic and literary community in London, who have different forms of expression, such as slam poetry.
Living in London has had an effect on her work, Hoogland said. In 2008, she published eight poems in The River Project: 19 London Artists Turn to the Thames.
“We re-imagined our relationships with the Thames River,” Hoogland said, adding that she lives near the body of water.
Hoogland is hosting a book launch on Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Arts Project, located at 203 Dundas Street from 4 to 6 p.m.
At the launch, Hoogland will read from Crow, and will be joined by Lise Down, reading from her book This Way.
For more information about Crow, visit www.crow2011.wordpress.com/
