Guesswork

"From the opening lines of the first poem... you know you're in good hands — the hands of a poet who knows his craft... There's no guesswork involved; Donaldson's unerring artistry keeps this collection form the unwarranted end that every book lover fears: ‘An unread book / is like a tree / falling / in an empty forest.’ " — Telegraph Journal

"Guesswork's hockey poems suggest a tense symphony of movement, speed, and grace punctuated by a lingering violence, a mind on sharpest edge. All jersey-bundled, they nearly obscure a muscular attention to form, technique, and craft that flexes and strains just beneath metaphor's protective veneer." — Matt Robinson

"Whether riffing on Rilke's Apollo, addressing an unlikely twin, or recalling a local magician, Donaldson writes with imaginative flare, ever-allusive language, and rare rhythmical skill. How lucky we are to witness the arrival of such poetry." — Brian Bartlett

Jeffery Donaldson is the author of Palilalia — a finalist for the Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry — Waterglass, and Once out of Nature. He has also the co-editor of Frye and the Word: Religious Contexts in the Writings of Northrop Frye. Donaldson teaches poetry and American literature at McMaster University. He lives on the Niagara Escarpment near Grimsby, Ontario.

Winner: City of Hamilton Arts Award, Established Artist, Writing