What is the chance
she smiles
on this rivalry declared
in the unspoken
as chivalry, even one
glance
shot
in the glass, while
ahead he waits holding
the door half-open, half-closed.
Andrew Steinmetz's second collection of poetry turns a clinical eye on his favourite subjects - love, marriage, power, fantasy, and art. At the crossroads of the credos "know thyself" and "heal thyself," Steinmetz adopts a "hurt thyself" attitude that is sardonic and compassionate. Using a tersely sensitive language that relies on the poet's own speaking voice, Hurt Thyself betrays a slightly ominous and skewed philosophical rigor. The implications of the poet's examined life are poems that feel emotionally exposed yet discriminating and sceptical.
Review quotes
"Uncanny is the word that comes to mind when I think about what Steinmetz has accomplished in this second collection. That, and dazzling." Carmine Starnino, author of Credo and With English Subtitles
Praise for Histories
Shortlisted: 2001 A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry
"In its restless wit, sharp observation, and compassion, Histories is immediately engaging and rewarding." Books in Canada
"Charged with emotional freight, Steinmetz delivers what so few of his contemporaries dare: a divorce from prosaic rhythms and a heated affair with untested syntax." Literary Review of Canada
Praise for Wardlife: The Apprenticeship of a Young Writer as a Hospital Clerk
Shortlisted: 2000 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fictionor and The Quebec Writers' Federation 2000 First Book Award and Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction
"Steinmetz has the writer's pitiless eye and worrying heart." The Globe and Mail
"A remarkable first book. Absolutely compelling." Ian Brown, Sunday Edition, CBC
Andrew Steinmetz is the editor of Esplanade Books and the author of a memoir, Wardlife, and a collection of poetry, Histories.
