Susan Holbrook and the Joy of Being Exhausted

BY AJ NOGUEIRA October 16 09

Susan Holbrook never imagined that she would love, cherish, and publish poetry, until one day, at the age of 17, she heard a reading by John B Lee, a prestigious Canadian poet.

Earning a BA in English at Victoria, and a Master's and PhD at Calgary, Holbrook experienced the west coast lifestyle while learning and experimenting with her writing. Now, Holbrook is a Professor of English at the University of Windsor teaching Poetry and Creative Writing, and has recently published her second book of poetry, Joy is so Exhausting.

Joy is so Exhausting features several interesting pieces, such as News Sudokus, S+7 poems, and a shift from the personal tone of her last book, Misled.

"There are a lot more procedural pieces in this one," says Holbrook. "It's more political than the last one."

Holbrook tries to find the line between experimentation and accessibility in poetry so that all may enjoy it. "Accessible is like Hallmark: it's empty. There is no attention to language," says Holbrook. "You have to think about the word itself, not just the meaning."

Holbrook has been working and living in the Windsor/Essex area for the past nine years, and praises the local arts.

"It's a small but mighty arts community. There's lots of talent. It doesn't stick to the stereotype of what people think of Windsor."

Holbrook explores a lot of the work she does with her students. S+7 poems, a method developed by OULIPO, the Workshop of Potential Literature, is used not only in her new book but Holbrook also suggests that her students try it.

"Do what you tell your students to do," Holbrook says. And Holbrook does. In her new book, her piece "Your First Timpani" is an S+7 poem that was a source text from a tampon pamphlet. Another work in Joy is so Exhausting is called "Good Egg Bad Seed," a piece which Holbrook had published as a chapbook in 2004.

A lot of the work in Joy is so Exhausting is satirical. Here too, Holbrook tries to find a balance. "If a piece is too funny, then the satirization is lost. It's easy to poke fun at stereotypes, and satirizing and critiquing can change someone's mind with humour," says Holbrook. "It's a balancing act."

Holbrook offers some final words of wisdom about poetry and writing.

"Poetry is fun. People don't realise it's fun to write and read."

Joy is so Exhausting is on sale at the University of Windsor Bookstore. Susan Holbrook will be doing a reading at Bookfest Windsor on Friday, November 6, at 7pm. For more information check www.bookfestwindsor.ca