Contrary Infatuations
Contrary Infatuations, Dymphny Dronyk, Poetry, ISBN 978-1-897181-10-2, 96 pages, Paperback, 5.5″ x 8.5″, $15.95
Whether writing about the hard scrabble life of being a camp cook or documenting a long and harrowing bedside vigil beside her husband; whether writing about working in the oil patch, about being “ bushed,” or juggling wolves in a primarily male industry, she never succumbs to sentimentality or maudlin self-pity. Indeed, it is the upbeat character, the wit and good humour the poet brings to her candid observations that impresses most: Her preferred mode is the skinny free verse strophe, she’s terse and economical with the language, even in the narrative pieces, and can string together a strong developmental suite, as she does in Camp Cook, Tree Planting Poems , The Patch Poems, 2006, and the stellar centerpiece, Astrocytoma. Her work poems bring to the familiar anecdotal narrative sub-genre a wry wit, strong use of anaphora and other parallel structures, so she can ring the changes from straight reportage to metaphor with élan. A solid debut. ~ Richard Stevenson, Northern Poetry Review
- Shortlisted: Gerald Lampert Award
- Shortlisted: Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry
Dymphny Dronyk is a writer, artist, mediator and mother. She is passionate about the magic of story and has woven words for money (journalism, corporate writing) and for love (poetry, fiction, drama, mystery novels) for about 30 years. She lives in Calgary, has three almost grown children and works in the “oilpatch”, in stakeholder relations.
