Inventing the Hawk

by Lorna Crozier

The poems in this haunting new book are both playful and provocative, witty and intimate. Central to the collection is a powerful elegy for her father. Beginning with his death, it moves back in time to the author's childhood in a small Saskatchewan community.

Inventing the Hawk reveals the small pleasures of day-to-day life, sometimes visited by “Angels” who offer a novel, often shocking perspective on reality. As well, Crozier translates love and the experience of loss into a language resonant with desire and longing. A language that speaks to the most private aspects of ourselves.

This is poetry that will change the way we look at our lives.

Genres: Poetry, Canada, Womens, Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

Lorna Crozier was born in 1948 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. As a child growing up in a prairie community where the local heroes were hockey players and curlers, she “never once thought of being a writer.” After university, Lorna went on to teach high school English and work as a guidance counsellor. During these years, Lorna published her first poem in Grain magazine, a publication that turned her life toward writing. Her first collection Inside in the Sky was published in 1976. Since then, she has authored 14 books of poetry, including The Garden Going on Without Us, Angels of Flesh, Angels of Silence, Inventing the Hawk, winner of the 1992 Governor-General’s Award, Everything Arrives at the Light, Apocrypha of Light, What the Living Won’t Let Go, and most recently Whetstone. Whether Lorna is writing about angels, aging, or Louis Armstrong’s trout sandwich, she continues to engage readers and writers across Canada and the world with her grace, wisdom and wit. She is, as Margaret Laurence wrote, “a poet to be grateful for.”

Since the beginning of her writing career, Lorna has been known for her inspired teaching and mentoring of other poets. In 1980 Lorna was the writer-in-residence at the Cypress Hills Community College in Swift Current; in 1983, at the Regina Public Library; and in 1989 at the University of Toronto. She has held short-term residencies at the Universities of Toronto and Lethbridge and at Douglas College. Presently she lives near Victoria, where she teaches and serves as Chair in the Writing Department at the University.

Beyond making poems, Lorna has also edited two non-fiction collections – Desire in Seven Voices and Addiction: Notes from the Belly of the Beast. Together with her husband and fellow poet Patrick Lane, she edited the 1994 landmark collection Breathing Fire: Canada’s New Poets; in 2004, they co-edited Breathing Fire 2, once again introducing over thirty new writers to the Canadian literary world.

Her poems continue to be widely anthologized, appearing in 15 Canadian Poets X 3, 20th Century Poetry and Poetics, Poetry International and most recently in Open Field: An Anthology of Contemporary Canadian Poets, a collection designed for American readers.

Her reputation as a generous and inspiring artist extends from her passion for the craft of poetry to her teaching and through to her involvement in various social causes. In addition to leading poetry workshops across the globe, Lorna has given benefit readings for numerous organizations such as the SPCA, the BC Land Conservancy, the Victoria READ Society, and PEERS, a group committed to helping prostitutes get off the street. She has been a frequent guest on CBC radio where she once worked as a reviewer and arts show host. Wherever she reads she raises the profile and reputation of poetry.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Crozier translates love and the experience of loss into a language resonant with desire and longing. A language that speaks to the most private aspects of ourselves.”

A beautiful meditation on life, grief, family and the everyday. I love Crozier’s ability to capture complexity in playful and intimate ways. She manages to confront unpleasant aspects of life without letting them consume the pieces, instead allowing a multitude of experiences and emotions to coexist.

[Marilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lorna Crozier's voice is unique. i adore her poetry.

[Brian Wasserman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess what bothers me about Lorna Crozier is that she is a poet who can be much more than a capable poet but an exemplary one, in this collection much of the poems lack a central focus or theme many of them are playful lacking any serious conceit. Another cardinal poetic sin that Crozier is guilty of is pandering to critics but using gratuitous amount of allusion where the appeal hinges solely on the allusions rather than any clever poetic devices, even the allusions are not that elaborate.

[Sami Al-Khalili · Rating 5 out of 5]

One hundred and forty pages of poetry are like lighting a candle in one hundred and forty environments. The wick is the duration of each poem, it doesn't matter whether it is day or night, each poem gave off the ambiance: the scent of the candle.

A must read is Metamorphasis.

[Michelle Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely, especially the angel poems.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In her poetry we hear a story — and the other side of the story." Canadian Forum

Her poetry asks us to engage on many levels, to question the story. In "Scribes" God sees words spelled out by a sparrow having walked through flour, and he sends seraphs to find the items that he thinks are his wife's grocery list. He sends for custard and we are left wondering, "Who made it?.../Who are it? /Was it good?"

In her series of "Angel" poems she inhabits the spirit of roses, or bees, or numbers with haunting observation. My favourite was "Angel of the Moon." " You think she is looking at you? /She is looking at no one."

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book written in a simple yet profound style.