Shane Rhodes stands with Err, his new book of poems that is being launched April 2.
Local, award-winning poet Shane Rhodes’ newest book, Err, will launch at The Manx Pub on April 2 as part of the Plan 99 Reading Series.
In his fourth poetry collection, Rhodes mixes playful and experimental poems which ‘push and pull’ at the English language. He says he hopes the fun, unconventional approach will appeal to those weary of the art form.
“It’s actually really fun to listen to. To see what you can crank out of the English language,” he says.
Rhodes’ witty commentary has been broken up into four sections. The first, Spirits, is a compilation of poems about alcohol and its consumption in society. The segment includes lyrical wordplay about booze and cocktails, and the chemistry involved in fermentation.
There's also observations on historical events such as the Red October Revolution, in which revolutionaries took a two week break to drink their way through the Czars cellars. In Chateau du Mauvais Chien 2004 Rhodes pokes fun at overly serious wine descriptions and tastings.
“My father died from alcoholism when I was a kid,” says Rhodes. In his first book, Rhodes addressed the topic with a serious tone. In Err, he’s looking at how humour can address the situation.
The next section, Bodies, also relates to cultural and societal beliefs. It was inspired by over a decade of work in HIV prevention with the federal government. “I wanted to write about HIV, taking a look at what HIV means in our culture and how that has changed over the decades,” says Rhodes. The section includes a four-page poem derived from a website called the body, which highlights the challenges faced by people with HIV.
“It brings together a lot of concerns we have had about HIV,” says Rhodes.
Rhodes began writing poetry 25 years ago. and has worked with Canadian magazines including the Fiddlehead, Qwerty and currently Ottawa’s Arc Magazine.
“There is some stigma attached to to the arts or to poetry. People think it’s something they're not going to understand,” says Rhodes. “That’s what I wanted to tackle with this book.” Rhodes says he wanted to create an entertaining, unconventional book of poetry, dealing with subject matter that people could relate to.
“He is trying to show that poetry can be fun. . .I trust it will be interesting based on his past work,” says David O’Meara, co-founder of the Plan 99 Reading Series. O’Meara, a poet himself, started the Plan 99 Reading Series 12 years ago with Chris Swail.
Poetry is something that people are led to believe is difficult, says O’Meara, perhaps because of exposure to only uncontemporary poetry in high school. From wherever the misconception stems, it’s a falsity, he says.
“Certainly, if you are looking at poems for the first time, it might be a little bit of work,” says O’Meara. “But it’s the same as water skiing – once you see what it’s all about, you really enjoy it.”