As anyone who has spent any time on this planet knows, things don't usually go entirely according to plan. That's the theme of local writer Roger Nash's latest book of poetry, entitled “Zigzags.”
“What I've got interested in with life generally is how often we bump into paradoxes or contradictions in our lives, individually or socially,” Nash said.
“Sometimes it can be very humorous, or they can be tragic paradoxes, but they present us with obstacles we have to steer around.
“We plan a straight course in life — I'm going up the ladder in my career or I'm going down the street to the coffee house — but we zig-zag a little bit, we meet people, when opportunities present themselves, to talk, to do this, to do that.”
One of the poems in the 81-page book is actually entitled “My Lady of Paradoxes.” Here's one of its lines: “She holds parties to be quite alone, retires to meet a crowd, whispers to be clearly heard, to hide, talks long and loud.”
“Zigzags” is the 18th book published over the past 37 years by Nash, a Laurentian University philosophy professor emeritus, who was Greater Sudbury's inaugural poet laureate from 2010 to 2012, and who has won several major writing awards.
The book was put out by Black Moss Press, a Windsor-area publishing company. The pocket-sized volume is just 81 pages long.
Nash's last book of poetry, “Upsidoon,” was released by the now-defunct Sudbury publishing company Scrivener Press two years ago.
Poetry, Nash contends, is still relevant in the modern world. Your favourite music is poetry, and teenagers often turn to poetry to express their feelings when they're dumped or their dog dies.
Being the city's first poet was “a great honour,” he said. “It gave me a platform to stretch out and go into various areas of Sudbury to help people find their voices as writers,” Nash said.
A book signing for “Zigzags” takes place at the Main Public Library at 2 p.m. Oct. 1.
The list price is $16 (although what it's actually selling for varies), and it's available for purchase at online retailers such as Amazon, at Sudbury Chapters as well as at the book signing.
