Of coffee, showers and nail clippings: Roger Nash's poetry

Roger Nash said he lives an everyday life in an everyday world.

It's not surprising, then, that the Laurentian University philosophy professor emeritus, who was Greater Sudbury's inaugural poet laureate from 2010 to 2012, writes poetry about everyday things.

This includes such mundane topics as drinking coffee, taking a shower and even cutting your nails – yes, you read that correctly.

“They fall on the bathroom counter, like a far-distant half-circle, of small, white, curve-prowed, kayaks, drawn up on some smooth, formica beat in the high Arctic,” reads Nash's poem “Ode to our nail clippings.”

The poem appears in Nash's ninth collection of poetry, “Upsidoon,” which was released by local publisher Scrivener Press earlier this month.

“One thing I think poetry and stories can do beautifully is take everyday things we got so familiar with, and so routine-ized about that we no longer notice them, and we make them wondrous to us again,” Nash said.

Beyond elevating the world of the everyday, the poet also writes about something close to his heart — environmental issues.

That's where the name of his book “Upsidoon,” comes in. Nash said it's a word Chaucer used, and means “Upside down.” He said people's attitudes towards the environment are really upside down.

“We live by a lot of short-term values, which is sort of the opposite upside down from long-term ones,” he said.

“We live for the immediate now and money in our pocket; however, we get it through tar sands. But long-term, tar sands may mean extinction of the species or tough times, anyway.”

The poem “Species' extinction,” for example, reads as follows: “A condom is sliding, its silent sheath, over our entire world, to a hysterectomy, of our surprised sighs.”

Nash — who has won several major awards for his writing — said although poetry may not be appreciated the same way it was 100 years ago, it's still enjoyed by the masses in a different way.

“The lyrics of pop songs — the latest songs you hear on the radio, whatever stations you listen to, they are poetry,” he said.

“I don't think poetry is losing its popularity, but it may be. People don't realize they listen to poetry when they listen to lyrics.”

The 88-page book, which costs $17.95, is available locally at Chapters or online at www.scrivenerpress.com.