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D'âmes et d'ailes/of souls and wings
D'âmes et d'ailes/of souls and wings, by award-winning French Canadian author Janick Belleau,
is a collection of ninety-one tanka poems presented in both French and English. The book
begins with a scholarly article by Belleau exploring tanka composed by female poets
since the 9th century, and then delves right into the author’s own poetry which is
divided up into seven thematic sections.
Tanka is a form of Japanese poetry brought to Canada by Japanese-born
immigrants in the early 1900’s, and has gained mainstream popularity
in North America since the late 1990’s. Some French Canadian poets
were also influenced by a similar poetic movement in France, also
brought by Japanese-born immigrants, around the same time. Tanka
consists of five lines and is hallmarked by both lyricism and expressions
of emotions. Ms. Belleau is adroit at using the tanka form to cover such
topics as nature, love, aging, death, the “great beyond” and all the
generalities and subtleties that make up everyday life. Her poems are
skilful and touched with the kind of honesty that makes for good poetry.
They are never too sentimental nor heavy-handed, and always invite the reader
in for some thought-provoking musing.
The weightier poems, as far as topics go, seem to be handled with the most sensitivity
and use subtle symbols for deepest meanings. For example,
healing
in an egg-shaped bath
this fear:
my death by drowning
in my mother’s bosom
or
she removes
a limp butterfly
from the edge of the well—
an urn will be more tempting
than a coffin … when my time comes
Tanka poetry sometimes, but not always, makes use of something called a pivot. A pivot can work
in a poem in one of two ways, either by changing topic midway the poem, or by using the third
line as a swing line that works whether read in its original place, or by placing it at the end
of the poem. Ms. Belleau’s tanka often employ this technique, such as in this verse:
August 12
your cat being put to sleep
your tears
my helplessness—
foliage not as green as it was
In this particular tanka, line 3, (“your tears”) is the pivot, and works in its original spot, or when read at the end of the poem, thusly:
August 12
your cat being put to sleep
your tears
my helplessness—
foliage not as green as it was
your tears
Although a book that will obviously appeal to those who are familiar with tanka techniques
and the finer elements of the form, this book also reads well to any poetry lover. The illustrations
included are photographs of either nature or sculptures taken by Ms. Belleau herself. They add a nice
touch and provide an introductory transition to each topic.
This is a book that begs to be read again and again, as my already well-worn copy proves. Highly recommended.
Aurora Antonovic is a Canadian writer and editor whose work has been published internationally.
She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Magnapoets, a print publication that
seeks to promote the love of verse in all forms.
Email: Aurora Antonovic
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