National Animal, Derek Webster’s second book of poetry, inhabits a wider public space than his acclaimed debut Mockingbird. In poems that extend beyond the biographical toward the political, Webster’s quiet, sharp-eyed narrator— a man “ tripping / my way forward, trying to lead my own life” — watches history being erased in favour of more socially palatable ideas and comforting self-portraits. Uncompromising and substantial, National Animal explores our “ civic moment” where ""birds sing oblivion / estranged from all things,"" and meditates, in a final image-rich sequence, on our place in a science-based cosmos.
- ISBN10 1550656570
- ISBN13 9781550656572
- Publish Date 5 September 2024
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country CA
- Imprint Vehicule Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 80
- Language English