Leaving Traces

by Pollard, Velma

• ISBN13: 9781845230210
• ISBN10: 1845230213
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-01
• Publisher: Peepal Tree Press Ltd.

Summary

Having developed a significant following among her fellow Jamaicans and in the wider Caribbean world, Velma Pollard seamlessly unites the personal and the political in her latest volume of poetry. Organized into three sections, the collection expresses underlying political concerns, such as the impact of global culture, the dangers of unobstructed American power, and the threat of Islamist opposition. The poems move beyond these problems, however, ultimately seeking resolution through understanding the flow of nature and urging a celebration of life.

Author Biography

Velma Pollard teaches at the University of the West Indies–Mona, where she is senior lecturer in language education and the dean of the faculty of education. She is the author of The Best Philosophers I Know Can't Read or Write, Considering Woman, Crown Point and Other Poems, Dread Talk, Shame Trees Don't Grow Here, and Karl, for which she won the Casa de las Americas in 1992. She is a member of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars.

Table of Contents

Leaving Traces
Portobello	p. 9
Musings across from the Port Authority (Charlotte Amalie)	p. 12
Juan Bautista	p. 14
Thinking re-thinking the Baths, Virgin Gorda: I	p. 17
Thinking re-thinking the Baths, Virgin Gorda: II	p. 18
Thinking re-thinking the Baths, Virgin Gorda: III	p. 20
Montserrat: I Old Town	p. 22
Montserrat: II	p. 24
Great Forest Debrecen	p. 27
At the Hortobagy (for Cecile Carrington)	p. 29
For Giovanna (before Trento)	p. 31
Trento (Fall 2000): I	p. 32
Trento (Fall 2000): II Rain	p. 33
Trento (Fall 2000): III Train to Venice	p. 34
Trento (Fall 2000): IV On the Corner	p. 36
Double Vision
Cut Language	p. 40
Picasso Rape Series (Ponce '98 after Breath Eyes and Memory)	p. 42
It is the dying time (for Madge Hall)	p. 46
Schistosoma (for Emily Krasinski)	p. 47
While TV Towers Burn (Fall 2001): I	p. 48
While TV Towers Burn (Fall 2001): II	p. 50
While TV Towers Burn (Fall 2001): III	p. 52
While TV Towers Burn (Fall 2001): IV	p. 54
While TV Towers Burn (Fall 2001): V	p. 55
War Child (after Iraq)	p. 57
Messiah	p. 59
While the Sap Flows
While the sap flows	p. 62
View up through her window (for Olive Senior)	p. 63
Soursop/Tree I remember	p. 64
Clouds	p. 66
Birdsong	p. 67
Fall leaves	p. 69
Phase II	p. 71
Farewell	p. 72
Unrepentant Hetero	p. 73
Score Even	p. 74
Homeless	p. 75
Confessions of a Son	p. 77
Single Mother	p. 78
Cassandra	p. 79
Confession	p. 81
My Catholic cousin	p. 83
Out of Joint	p. 85
Mid-life	p. 86
With Thanks	p. 88
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