UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LINKS

Robert Boates : Poems

Selection of Poems

AUTHOR'S NOTE ON THE POEMS in his book, The afterlife, Toronto: Seraphim Editions. 1998.I wrote MAN WITHOUT MEMORY in October, 1988; my head injury occurred in October, 1989. I wrote AFTER THE FALL, DAY PATIENT, PUBLIC NOTICE, PUBERTY, and CHEDOKE while I was in rehabilitation. This version of CHEDOKE took me four years to write. I wrote many of these poems during my second year of recovery while I was on Dilantin, an anti-seizure medication notorious for making people extremely sluggish. I spent the better part of a year flat on my back, writing by hand, sleeping, or watching television. Oliver Sacks noted that dialogue launches language. I wrote PENANCE after watching a confessional talk-show; I wrote it from my father's perspective, as if through his eyes. GLADSTONE AVENUE took me nine years to complete. I wrote this version while on Dilantin. HARD KNOCKS took me nine months to write. HYPOTHETICAL FIFTH YEAR took me two years to write, and was the last poem in this collection to be completed.