Don Domanski was just 15 years old in 1965 when he felt called to be a poet. He says the idea hit him like a bolt out of the sky, and the next day he rushed to the Sydney Public Library to check out poetry. He has been writing ever since.
The Nova Scotian author has now published eight collections of poetry. His latest, All Our Wonder Unavenged (Brick Books), won the 2007 Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry.
Two of his other books have been short-listed for that prize, and in 1999 he won the CBC Literary Award for Poetry. Domanski is internationally reviewed and translated. Former American poet laureate Mark Strand wrote that “…there is no better poet writing in English.”
Listen to Domanski talking with Michael Enright about his latest book and more in this recent interview from CBC Radio’s The Sunday Edition.
For an inside take on the poet’s life and work, check out our 2007 “Poet of the Month” feature. In this exclusive online Q&A, Domanski reveals his feelings on winning poetry awards and explores links between his interests in geology and paleontology and his writing. He also likens writing poetry to a spiritual practice.
Words at Large is CBC’s online destination for Canadians who love books. Look for something new every day, from CBC programs and podcasts, to interviews with writers and more. Stay tuned for our newly designed and expanded site.
Comments
This man is one of the best poets Canada has to offer...you will be pierced by his "human experience." Sublime words Don!
Posted by: violette | May 4, 2008 03:18 PM
in general, i have no problem with domanowski, however, i just really wanted to read about the director of love is a bitch, thanks for ledaving that out by the way
Posted by: rcraigfader | May 5, 2008 05:30 AM
I suppose I should begin by thanking you for giving some media exposure to poets. This, however, is to be expected of a public broadcaster. What I take you to task for is the lack of exposure of poetry itself. Here, Don Domanski was interviewed for 20 minutes on the Sunday Edition, and not one poem of his was read! And again, on your “Poet of the Month” feature, several inches of space are given to a similar interview, and again, not one poem. This, unfortunately, is not atypical of the CBC nowadays. Do you remember the days when Robert Weaver paid the likes of Al Purdy or Irving Layton to read poems on the radio? That era is long gone. Unfortunately, a poet’s work is not always readily available “at a bookstore near you”.
I have written a missive like this before, and expect I will have to again. The solution is simple: poetry is soundbite friendly, and a few extra inches on a webpage cost nothing to get a sense of this poet’s actual writing, rather than just chatter about the importance of awards and sources of inspiration. But as long as the CBC is more dedicated to the culture of celebrity than culture per se, I’m afraid this simple criticism will fall on deaf ears.
Posted by: Brian Campbell | May 20, 2008 12:21 PM
I'm writing again to say that, on reconsideration, I think my comment above is rather on the belligerent side. It's hard to resist using a barbed turn of phrase when one is capable of it!
When Enright talks to a fiction writer (or non-fiction prose writer) about his or her book without actually having them read from it, as he did with Nancy Huston a couple of weekends ago, that can be quite OK, because the writer can give an adequate sense of the book by talking about its story, central issues & main characters. But when a poet is interviewed the same way, it's hard to get that adequate sense of what his or her poetry is like. A poem or two can do a great deal to contextualize the interview and amplify its meaning.
In the Poet of the Month feature hyperlinked above, I posted a comment with links to a couple of Domanski poems (one excellent, the other quite good) for anyone who might be interested. Thank you for publishing the comment and making those links "live". Although I feel I'm doing your work for you -- I shouldn't have to do that -- just posting that comment does a lot to remedy the problem. Thanks again!
Posted by: Brian Campbell | June 2, 2008 11:34 PM
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