Exploding Chippewas

Description

A collection of poems exploring a continuing struggle with identity; Everything this poet touches upon is volatile – the poet himself| the people and world around him| ideas and mythologies| the ghosts of memory and the dreams of possible futures| all seem to burst into fragments. Mark Turcotte uses poetry to gather up the pieces – the shards of joy and grief| peace and doubt| strength and temptation| questions and answers – as he tries to define and rediscover what is lost when everyday life becomes explosive. The first part of the book is a series of lyrical poems that all begin with the phrase Back when I used to be Indian| a self-contradictory concept that strikes at the heart of Turcotte’s identity. His absent father and his own experience of fatherhood are the subjects of a second group of poems| leading him to explore the legacy that burdened his father and| in turn| the different kind of legacy that now burdens him. In a third and final group| Turcotte’s imagination reaches again into the many flames of his experience| leading toward the title poem| where even the most dangerous of fires become a guiding light.