In Extremis (English)

By Sylvain Turner

Come, have no fear of anything, he says, I am he who will help you cross all the boundaries you carry within yourself. Approach, do not be afraid, I will allow you to reach destinations you have always dreamt of, those illicit Edens where serpents dine on the milk of virgins, charmed by tongues of light that illuminate the shadowy mouths of the latest prophets.


In extremis is the story of a private, intimate war that the poet wages in the heart of besieged territories, where language shines its most beautiful light on the most sombre of inks. It is followed by Paintings of Ordinary Apocalypses, a series of poems where we are introduced to a variety of exotic characters.

Sylvain Turner holds a master’s degree in literature from the Université de Québec à Montréal. A designer/copywriter, translator, literary chronicler and lyricist, he has been published in magazines such as Gaz Moutarde, Possibles and Exit, among others.

“You’ve got to read In extremis for the power of its words, the emotions conveyed and, very simply, to discover the pen of

Sylvain Turner.”

Roxanne Pichette

CQFL (Ce qu’il faut lire)



“Highly incarnate. It almost feels like being at the movies.”

Lynda Dion

Libraire de force

“The poet has written a very touching book. Some of the poems are quite simple. The effectiveness with which they communicate emotion is undeniable. (…) Turner’s return to poetry is a definite success. I couldn’t be more delighted.”

Daniel Guénette

Le blog de Dédé blanc-bec

• Language: English
• Publisher: Éditions TNT
• Release date: Sep 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9782925368137

Book preview

Cover of In extremis, the painting Le poète aux trois oreilles (The Poet with Three Ears) by Martin Fecteau. It's a painting of a men in watercolor.

IN EXTREMIS

Followed by

PAINTINGS OF ORDINARY APOCALYPSES

Poetry

Sylvain Turner

Éditions TNT

IN EXTREMIS

Publisher

Éditions TNT

14603 rue Serge-Deyglun

Montréal (Québec) H1A 5J6

514 256-9000

www.editionstnt.com [e-mail]

Cover Page

Le poète aux trois oreilles (The Poet with Three Ears)

Martin Fecteau

Layout and Design

Keven Wong

Proofreading

Marie-Andrée Gouin

Translator (to English)

Colin McGregor

Photo of the Author

Fairouz Oudjida

Copyright

© Sylvain Turner, 2022. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any format without the express written consent of the author, except in the case of a literary criticism.

Legal Deposit 2022

Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec

Library and Archives Canada

ISBN

Paper: 978-2-925002-80-2

PDF: 978-2-925002-81-9

EPUB: 978-2-925368-13-7

Funded by the Government of Canada and the SODEC

To all those who always fight

and never give up.

Precisely to take one more step, momentarily leaving

the magic circle that keeps him prisoner, doing so

mething despite the fact that it will come undone in all directions, creating a pathway to make progress in the heart of the desert, emitting a cry that indicates that, under the debris, there is still someone striving to get out.

PIERRE BERTRAND

Le cœur silencieux des choses

(The Quiet Heart of Things)

FROM METAPHORS

TO METAMORPHOSES

These poems are monographs on the side effects of the absolute, active in the subject’s laboratory. An infinite antiseptic describing the agony, but not the destruction.

DENIS VANIER

L’hôtel brûlé

(The Burnt Hotel)

INTIMATE PROJECTION

I don’t know where I am, where I come from. I am confused, lost. Dressed in my most beautiful wounds,