Small Arguments
Poems
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Small Arguments
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Narrated by:
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Souvankham Thammavongsa
About this listen
A beautiful re-issued edition of poetry from the Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author of How To Pronounce Knife
FEATURING A NEW INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
The language of Small Arguments is simple, yet there is nothing simple in its ideas. Reminiscent of Pablo Neruda’s Elemental Odes, these poems explore the structures of argument, orchestrating material around repetition, variation, and contrast. Thammavongsa’s approach is like that of a scientist or philosopher, delicately probing material for meaning and understanding. The poet collects small lives and argues for a larger belonging: a grain of dirt, a crushed cockroach, the eyes of a dead dragonfly. It is a work that suggests we can create with what we know and with that alone.
First published in 2003, Small Arguments announced the arrival of a distinct and utterly original new voice.
©2023 Souvankham Thammavongsa (P)2023 McClelland & StewartCritic reviews
“Here is a delicate and graceful hand naming the fragile materials of poetry.”—Dionne Brand, author of Nomenclature: New and Collected Poems
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