Lisa Shatzky’s fifth book of poetry, The Bells that Ring, published by Black Moss Press, is being launched on Sunday March 11, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Cove Commons.
Sponsored by Bowen Island Arts Council as well as the Library Association, this is bound to be a fun event with readings happening from Shatzky herself as well as a few lively members of the community.
The Bells that Ring is a collection of 45 poems that speak to the human condition as well as the fragile state of the planet with a voice that is deeply personal, passionate, eclectic, and universally evocative.
At times meditative and at times darkly humorous, the poems in this collection wrestle with the timeless questions each of us must walk with in some way throughout our lives: “who am I in this life and what does it all mean?”
The title to this collection, which is also the title of the last poem in the book, emerged from a conversation Shatzky had with the late Leonard Cohen in an after-hours pub in Montréal when she was 19 years old. She recalls Cohen telling her to write as much as she can and “ring the bells that still can ring.”
In her dedication at the beginning of the book, Shatzky writes: “the poems in this collection, dear Leonard, are my imperfect offerings …. Enjoy.”
Shatzky invites you to come out Sunday afternoon on Bowen Island and enjoy some poetry, some laughter, and the delightful hearts and voices that are at the core of these poetic moments in time.
