Increasinglyknownasthe“poet’spoet,“GovernorGeneral’sAward-winnerPhilHallhaslongbeenaconstructorofintricatesequences,collectingandarranginglinesandphrases,artifacts,andsmallrevelations.Hewritesoninfluences,literaryandlocal;hewritesofruralOntario,attemptingtocomprehendadeeplypersonalfamilyviolence;hestitchestogetherlinesandtalltalesandfablesfromhislifeandthestoriesthatfloataroundtheethosofhisvarietyofOntariowilds.Hall’sisn’tapoetrycarvedintoperfectdiamondformbutapoetrywhittledfromscoresoffoundmaterialspulledapartandrearranged.Thisvolumeisnotsomucha“selectedpoems“asitisareshuffle,asamplerfromthespanofHall’spublishedwork.GuthrieClothingisacollage-selectionbyHall.Lines,stanzas,andpoem-fragmentsarereworkedandpatternedintoanewsequence,afreshstructure.Theafterwordconsistsofanimportantnewessay-poembyHallaswell.ItarguesagainstironyfromaruralperspectiveandamountstoHall’sarspoetica.Inanencompassingintroduction,robmclennanexploresHall’sfour-plusdecadesofbricolage.
