From the backcover: In language that folds upon itself, chance sightings of wild creatures become a study of humanity before the animal that waits. In re-negotiating a space that includes other species and other life forms, Armstrong unbalances her perceptions, making her own space unfamiliar and finding new ways of conceiving of a less human-centred environment.
Note: Poems from The Scare in the Crow have appeared in Canadian journals like CV2 and Prism, and “Speak Softly, Low One” was shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards, and crossing the border into the states, “Wanted: One Bearskin Rug” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and parts of this collection won the 2008 Tennessee Chapbook Prize.
Sample Poem:
“Whatever You’ve Come to Get”
Has been given over
to the sally Ann and thrift,
to the witch hazel reek of erasure
near the sink
where larder beetles, with their thin bands of gold,
loot the cupboard seams–
connubial, perhaps,
among the teaspoons and dessert forks,
the butter knives
tarnished along rose vine and fescue inlay.
Whatever you’ve come to collect
has already been reclaimed
for a restoration
by the beetles and vine dressers –
this kitchen has been given over.
Everything else
has been placed in apple crates near the alley:
memories of your childhood pets,
their collar and tags
shine brilliantly in the hands of scavengers.
About Tammy Armstrong: Tammy Armstrong is the youngest narrative poet to have been shortlisted for the Governor-General’s award, when she was nominated for Bogman’s Music in 2002. She has been published widely in Canada and internationally. Here Magazine has called her poetry “so daring and au courant that it defies technical analysis.”
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