Wrong Cat, The by Lorna Crozier

by Lorna Crozier

Like the people and animals in her new collection, Lorna Crozier “defies / the anecdotal, / goes for the lyric, / music made from / bone and muscle and the grace notes” of life. The poems in The Wrong Cat are vintage sly, sexy, irreverent, and sad, and populated by fully realized characters whose stories take place in a small lyrical space. We learn about a mother’s last breath, the first dog in heaven, a man’s fear that his wife no longer loves him, and the ways in which animals size up the humans around them and find them wanting. With Crozier’s celebrated mix of vibrant imagery, piercing observations, and deeply felt human emotions, these poems provide an affirmation in the midst of the fluid, often challenging nature of experience.

Genres: Poetry, Canada, Animals

Paperback

First published March 31, 2015

About the author

Lorna Crozier was born in 1948 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. As a child growing up in a prairie community where the local heroes were hockey players and curlers, she “never once thought of being a writer.” After university, Lorna went on to teach high school English and work as a guidance counsellor. During these years, Lorna published her first poem in Grain magazine, a publication that turned her life toward writing. Her first collection Inside in the Sky was published in 1976. Since then, she has authored 14 books of poetry, including The Garden Going on Without Us, Angels of Flesh, Angels of Silence, Inventing the Hawk, winner of the 1992 Governor-General’s Award, Everything Arrives at the Light, Apocrypha of Light, What the Living Won’t Let Go, and most recently Whetstone. Whether Lorna is writing about angels, aging, or Louis Armstrong’s trout sandwich, she continues to engage readers and writers across Canada and the world with her grace, wisdom and wit. She is, as Margaret Laurence wrote, “a poet to be grateful for.”

Since the beginning of her writing career, Lorna has been known for her inspired teaching and mentoring of other poets. In 1980 Lorna was the writer-in-residence at the Cypress Hills Community College in Swift Current; in 1983, at the Regina Public Library; and in 1989 at the University of Toronto. She has held short-term residencies at the Universities of Toronto and Lethbridge and at Douglas College. Presently she lives near Victoria, where she teaches and serves as Chair in the Writing Department at the University.

Beyond making poems, Lorna has also edited two non-fiction collections – Desire in Seven Voices and Addiction: Notes from the Belly of the Beast. Together with her husband and fellow poet Patrick Lane, she edited the 1994 landmark collection Breathing Fire: Canada’s New Poets; in 2004, they co-edited Breathing Fire 2, once again introducing over thirty new writers to the Canadian literary world.

Her poems continue to be widely anthologized, appearing in 15 Canadian Poets X 3, 20th Century Poetry and Poetics, Poetry International and most recently in Open Field: An Anthology of Contemporary Canadian Poets, a collection designed for American readers.

Her reputation as a generous and inspiring artist extends from her passion for the craft of poetry to her teaching and through to her involvement in various social causes. In addition to leading poetry workshops across the globe, Lorna has given benefit readings for numerous organizations such as the SPCA, the BC Land Conservancy, the Victoria READ Society, and PEERS, a group committed to helping prostitutes get off the street. She has been a frequent guest on CBC radio where she once worked as a reviewer and arts show host. Wherever she reads she raises the profile and reputation of poetry.

Reviews

[Julie]

8.0/10

This is yet-another book of poems I came across in my late-night search for Yehuda Amichai, which is starting to feel, strangely, like The Hunt for Red October. Suitably, (and ironically) one of my favourites in this collection is

Man from the Sargasso Sea

Surely he was once an eel, slick and run-on
Writhing rainbow without colour,

Water-drenched. A wanderer who crossed
The seas and knew his way.

Mouth wide and dangerous.

I caught him with a torch
And a wooden boat.

I caught him with a net
My mother made me.

The next full tide I let him go.

This book splits into two channels: Nature; and Love.

Drenched in imagery of nature, the collection opens the heart to her ability to see the world through nature's eyes -- which might be an arrogant construct for some, but which Crozier spins delicately, like a spider's web. Rather than the poems resulting as intrusive vanity, they become charged with humility and wonder.

Also charged with humility and wonder is her celebration of her long marriage -- what it takes to collect the joys and sorrows of a lifetime with one person, in one's hands, and hold it like a pearl, to examine its incandescent beauty through the minutiae of daily acts of love.

A lovely collection to take into the woods, to sit and ponder over her words, as seen through an owl's eyes.

And a lovely collection to take into your reading corner, to sit and ponder the nature of love, whatever shape it takes.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never been one to read poetry so I took a stab to read this book of poems. I only enjoyed the poems in this collection that were around animals like the moose nose and between the dog and Wolf.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Lorna Crozier since the late 1980s. I was privileged to be accepted into her Creative Writing class at the University of Saskatchewan in 1991 and learned so much from her. No Canadian poet has had more of an influence on me as a writer. I adored The Sex Lives of Vegetables and some of her gorgeous lyrical pieces like Icarus in the Sea. Her poem, "Quitting Smoking," is one of my all-time favourites.

Reading Lorna's poems always delights me, but her longer lines and lyrical narrative poems in The Wrong Cat surprised me. Her style has evolved and I found myself searching the pages for her trademark wry humour and zingers. I found plenty of examples-- she's still got it. As with many of the other readers, I really enjoyed the animal poems--the moose one in particular.

I will read the collection a second time because I read The Wrong Cat with preconceived notions about Crozier's poetry. Her style has evolved and I want take in the cadence and rhythm of the longer poems with fresh eyes and ears (I hear her voice in my head when I read her poems). I suspect that after reading the book a second time, I will love the poems even more and arrive at a deeper appreciation of one of Canada's most gifted poets.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the downside, The Wrong Cat isn't a book of poems just about cats. In fact, the title poem isn't really about a cat, but it's still lovely. On the plus side, I really adore this poet. Crozier takes on love, sex, and more wry portraits of animals in this volume. Her prose flows beautifully off the tongue, and so many of the poems are filled with wit as well as fantastic imagery.

[Chloe Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

unfortunately her poem about raspberries will now haunt me forever, no spoilers

[Anne Farrer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a hard time finding something to connect with in her work, although I liked this sentence: for days I have eaten the spit of rats.

[Dessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Katie, who is always the right cat.

[M.W.P.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the orchard a deer stands on his hind legs.
Out early for a walk, before the village stirs,
she hopes he's come for her, his chest
white with moon-spill, his antlers tall
hard hands, fingers splayed. They touch
the high things humans don't sense are there.
His eyes have dimmed; he's weary
from his travels through the deadfall,
the fallow fields, the raised meadow
of little heartbeats. When he gets close to her,
moving with a shaman's roll from foot to foot,
will he place his mouth upon her mouth
and blow the found one in?

- Barren, pg. 1

* * *

Held by the hand of God -
not what she is but the small thing

she once was. A wood mouse,
a cow's eye, a leaf chameleon.

Touched is what they call the crazy.
Standing on two legs

doesn't feel good to her,
comfort doesn't feel good to her.

She chops a hole in the ice,
then stretches out,

face suspended above the cold
so her spirit can reach down

to what looks up
from that dark water

- Not Troubled by Her Breath, pg. 24

* * *

He comes home covered in a dust that shines.
Tells me he didn't know anybody's tongue.
When I undo his shirt I see he still has a body.
They're like us, he says, but they don't look up.
Though he doesn't smoke, every night I find him
In the darkness of the grove that blocks the sky,
A cigarette between his fingers, that little star.

- Man from the Stars, pg. 39

* * *

Wind is not as fond of the aspens as it is in summer,
eyelids of leaves opening and closing with a breath,
yet the setting sun lingers on these greenless sticks
stuck upright in the snow. It tips and spills a wash of rose,
each tree in the grove flushed like skin from a bath,
the head held minutes after. As she grows thin,
she likes the winter aspens more, not less, stands
among them in the cold, absorbs the dwindling gloam.
Thigh-deep in drifts, she raises her arms above her head
and sways. She has no kin on either side, in front, or back;
yet she joins them in their to-and-fro, their meanwhileness
and clatter, as she waits for the day's last light
to take her where it wants to go.

- January, pg. 47

* * *

What is the grass?
 The lost ones, talking.

What is the forest?
 Light's tall coffins.

What is the ocean?
 An ancient book of blues
the whales leave behind.

What is the tongue?
 Nobody speaks under the snow.

No, what is the tongue?
 Heel of snake, thumb of earthworm.

No, what is the tongue?

The moon, caught in a trap,
 chews off its right leg
then its left
 so it can rise.
- More Last Questions, after W.S. Merwin, pg. 55

* * *

We know more
about their god than they do.
They can't hear his silence
as he drops hungry wings
into the world.

They can't see him in the dark
when he moves among us,
when he collects out pellets
among the fallen leaves
and takes them apart,

spits on the little bones
to clean them,
and one by one,
reconstructs the mice.

- Owl's Take on Man, pg. 70

[Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

The publisher's take on this collection of poems - 'sly, sexy, irreverent, and sad' - strikes me as unusually on point. I particularly like the precision and physicality of Crozier's poems about relationships, as in 'the Heart Sutra', and the brief character sketches of the narrators' male lovers in the 'Men from Elsewhere' series. The poems reflect a sense that being alive is inherently erotic, but aren't stuck on that; it's just part of the frame, while the poet seems much more interested in the nuances of human personalities. Other standout poems for me were 'The Mask', about a woman struggling to come to terms with her husband's death; 'The Ripest Berries are Not Whole', on encountering the grotesque hidden inside the lush and sensual; and 'More Last Questions', a short, mystic poem in dialogue with one by W.S. Merwin. But while Croier shares Merwin's interest in the natural world - lots of these poems rely on animals or weather as key metaphors - her sensibility reminds me more of the English metaphysical poet John Donne: the frank treatment of lust, the almost morbid sense of death or destruction lurking nearby; and a pessimistic or perhaps simply fatalistic view of human nature.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the variety of styles in The Wrong Cat but I find the poems to be hit-or-miss. My favourites are the ones in which Crozier writes from an animal's perspective, often to poke fun at the ridiculousness of humans. Some of her poems are ultra-short (the eleven poems in "Notes for a Small Pocket"), others are longer prose poems. Most of them fall somewhere in between. The low point in this collection is definitely the "Man From Elsewhere" series, which describes different men from all corners of the earth (e.g. "from the Rain Forest," "from the North," "from the East," "from the Sargasso Sea"). These poem are mildly fantastical but quite boring in execution, and they definitely make the middle of the book lag. The most outstanding poem is probably "Moose Nose," which is silly and a unique idea for a poem. All in all, a good collection.

Poems that I liked:
"Telling What Future," "Game," "Call and Response," "Man from Hades 2," "Crow's Take on Man," "More Last Questions," "A Disturbance of Flies," "Moose Nose," "Owl's Take on Man," "My Mother Lies Dying."

=11/50 (22%) poems that I liked.

[L]

"Some time ago, the old ones say,
four moons hung above the garden
every solstice, that is, the moon in all its phases
all at once."
- 'The Beginning of Abstractions', pg. 7

"You hate the undertaker
faces of lilies
but there's more death
in the peony's big blooms;
you hear each petal
as it falls."
- 'Notes For a Small Pocket: Listen', pg. 13

"I like to think
of my soul as that [dung] beetle, pushing what's left
of the light that once was me
out of the world."
- 'An Extraordinary Fondness for Beetles', pg. 15

"a ghost pulse on her tongue."
- 'Heart Sutra', pg.29

"Perhaps its spit will give the gift
of prophecy, the taste of rat
in her mouth
a new kind of speaking,
without beauty,
without guile."
- 'The Ripest Berries Are Not Whole', pg. 52

"They don't know their shadows have blood in them."
- 'Crow's Take On Man', pg. 54

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me crozier poetry is one of those mistakes I keep making but hoping will be different this time! No such luck! Still pretentious and flowery and self (crozier) gratifying! One day I will learn!!

[Jessie B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice collection of poems

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in the themes of relationships although none of these peoms excited me.

[Jocelyn H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems about nature, relationships, humans, animals.
Lorna Crozier always has some wonderful lines:

"The moose is so powerful / his singular is plural"

- from "Moose Nose"

[julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

no comment

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really thought provoking collection of poetry!! I really enjoyed it!!

[Literary Mama]

From "Now Reading" by Literary Mama staff:

Editor-in-Chief Maria Scala adds, "I've been enjoying Lorna Crozier's 17th collection of poetry The Wrong Cat. Here, as always, Crozier's writing is irreverent, lyrical, and seemingly effortless. I keep returning to a poem in it called 'Book of Small Mistakes,' which details, initially, all the little things a husband does, that, when added up, get under his wife's skin, inspiring her to write a book. Not surprisingly, as is characteristic of Crozier, there is a twist at the end of this particular poem, letting readers know there is something larger at play:

… In the Book of Small Mistakes,
a small mistake, she writes for her defence,
should be the size of a screw that holds the hands
of a watch together, the size of a spot before it becomes
a melanoma, the size of one eyelet
in a child's white shoe
she never had the chance
to lace and tie.

Whether you are new to Crozier's work, or a staunch fan like myself, I highly recommend The Wrong Cat for its well-crafted and accessible stories."

Literary Mama's full Now Reading post can be found here: http://www.literarymama.com/blog/arch...

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review on my blog: http://nikkitheknack.blogspot.ca/2015...

The words flow beautifully in this collection of poems from Lorna Crozier.

Nature (human and otherwise) seems to be a common theme in this collection. There are many poems involving animals, whether they be about them or from their perspective. Crozier also writes about relationships and the emotions that come with different kinds/stages of relationships.

She manages to create a real sense of each character in a short space, from the lovers who have grown apart but never really left each other in "A Common Life", to a scene where angels - and even God himself - marvel at the joy a dog brings in "Tobias's Dog and the Angel".

I love the series of poems where animals describe their perspectives on mankind: "Owl's Take on Man", "Deer's Take on Man" (and more); and the series "Man from Elsewhere".

If you like sad poetry and thinking about nature of all kinds, this collection is for you.

[Zoë Danielle]

After her 2011 book Small Mechanics, Lornia Crozier quickly became a poet I couldn't wait to read more from. However I had to wait four more years with her next collection of poetry, The Wrong Cat, only just being released last month. Two aspects of The Wrong Cat stand out in particular--the strong animal connection, and the lyrical storytelling I first loved about Crozier. There's a darkness to her poems, a woman who has eaten berries nibbled on by rats, or an attempt to drown an otter.

Crozier's words are filled with emotion, and there's a series I loved in which animals offer a perspective on man. In 'Crow's Take on Man' she writes, "They never take the shortest route
 / and use too many words when a caw would do."

In The Wrong Cat nature and human nature mix together and the end result is evocative and bittersweet, a hint of spark even as the world darkness. For, as Crozier writes in 'An Extraordinary Fondness for Beetles':

"I like to think
of my soul as that beetle, pushing what's left

of the light that was once me

out of the world.'"

[Loretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've still got about five poems to read, but I'm pretty comfortable giving this five stars. It's wonderful and lyrical and all the good words, and I will be going to find more Lorna Crozier poetry to read.

The thing I am most captivated by, most "I want to know how to do that" about, is how many of her poems provide both a full, rich character (sometimes more than one character) and a complete, beautiful, true story, in a page or two.

ETA: and now having finished it, the last five poems are some of the best book. Loved all of it.

[Margaryta · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging and vibrant collection that superbly blended the lines between human and animal to bring a whole new perspective on what it's like to be alive. There were many interesting phrases throughout the poems that made it stand out in comparison to poetry I've read previously. I wasn't able to connect with every poem, but overall I was left with a very pleasant feeling after finishing.

[Andrea MacPherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually love Crozier's work. And her language, imagery, etc, is just as strong here. I just wasn't engaged with the content, for the most part.

I think this means I'm not a fan of animal poetry.

[nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think "the man from elsewhere" was my favourite part of this collection, as well as the animal poems.

[Hope]

I'm just not in the headspace for this collection right now.