What I’m reading ... KAY MCKENZIE COOKE

Each week, Canvas asks an author what are they are reading

Writing and reading are ponds I can fish from only one at a time. At present, I’m at the writing pond. But by my bed I have books I dip into when my writing brain isn’t watching.

Everrumble, by Michelle Elvy, published by Ad Hoc Fiction (2019), is a book I am savouring for its unusual and varied weave of language and the unique story of Zettie’s love of life’s mysterious allure.

Surfacing, by Kathleen Jaimie, published by Sort Of Books (2019), is an evocative gathering of what grounds us as Earthlings. I find I can eke out my reading of these essays without feeling any loss of momentum.

Every Now and Then I Have Another Child ,by Diane Brown, published by OUP (2020), is poetry but not as we know it, smacking of something different and rare. Like an exotic fruit or a prized cheese.

The Bedside Book of Birds, by the late Graeme Gibson, published by Bloomsbury (2005), kept pleading with me to read it again. During the pandemic lockdown the birds were particularly noticeable. I knew it was time to dip into this marvel again.

I look forward to buying and reading Rachel Mcalpine’s How To Grow Old, published by The Cuba Press (2020). I’m already acquainted with Rachel’s refreshingly wise and quirky takes on ageing. Can’t wait to devour a whole book.

Michele Leggott’s Mezzaluna: Selected Poems, published by AUP (2020), is a book I’m hungering to read. Michele’s poetry is exquisite. It’s on my To-buyvery-very-soon list.

Joni Mitchell’s Morning Glory on the

Vine, published by herself (2019) is a yummy-looking book I didn’t get for Christmas. However, a little bird tells me I will be getting it for my birthday.

Kay Mckenzie Cooke’s new book of poetry, Upturned (The Cuba Press, $25) is out now.