Cartography and Walking

By Adam Dickinson

Shortlisted for the 2003 Henry Kreisel Award for Best First Book (Writers Guild of Alberta Award)

In Cartography and Walking, Adam Dickinson charts his own listening -- an acute listening of eye and ear, a listening with both body and mind. "Cartography" is more than a metaphor for him, it's a way of being. It is how we dwell in the world, and how intimacy enriches such dwelling. Yet "cartography" is the presiding metaphor, the structure of this book; in giving it such a place, Dickinson reminds the reader of that very human impulse to plot, to imagine. Each poem is itself a kind of mapping, through language and sound, through minute observation, until land, love, and everyday life are given new embodiment, are newly discovered, and a reader finds new countries in strangely familiar settings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brick Books
• Release date: Sep 15, 2002
• ISBN: 9781771312806

Adam Dickinson

Adam Dickinson's poetry has appeared in literary journals and anthologies in Canada and internationally. He has published three books of poetry. His most recent book, The Polymers, was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Poetry, the Trillium Book Award for Poetry, and the ReLit Award. His work has been translated into Chinese, Dutch, and Polish. He has been featured at international literary festivals such as Poetry International in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and the Oslo International Poetry Festival in Norway. He currently lives in St. Catherines, Ontario, where he teaches poetics and creative writing at Brock University.