Shannon Bramer
Encyclopedia
Shannon Bramer is a Canadian
poet (born 1973). Born in Hamilton, Ontario
, she attended York University
before publishing her first book, suitcases and other poems, which won the Hamilton and Region Arts Council Book Award. Over the next few years, she resided in Guelph
, Ontario
, where she helped found the Bookshelf Poetry Contest. Settling in Toronto
, Bramer published scarf in 2001, a book of poems which tells the story of Vera, a single woman working in a scarf store in Hamilton. scarf received praise from Canadian literary critics, perhaps exemplified by the Antigonish
Review's comment that it is an "intriguing book about loneliness and searching". 2005 saw Bramer's first book of poems published by Coach House Books
, The Refrigerator Memory. Incorporating a broad range of imagery, the poems in The Refrigerator Memory were also well-received. Currently, Bramer lives in Toronto with her husband and two daughters. Her latest publication is a chapbook written to raise proceeds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake
, Be Mine.
Canadian poetry and more traditional, narrative poetry in that it is not pervasively influenced by either a particular school of experimentalism - Sound poetry
, for example - or the Western literary canon
. This is perhaps credible to her influences, which suggest a reliance more on oral tradition
- the Mother Goose
stories and rhymes being a good example, as they're transcriptions based on historically popular folk tales for children - than on conventional literary approaches.
Another significant attribute of Bramer's poetry is that it is tonally feminine, as well as less aurally harsh than the poetry of her Canadian predecessors including Bronwen Wallace
and Margaret Atwood
. This tendency toward gentle or playful phrasing runs in stark contrast with the themes addressed in her work (and, by extension, generates a tension essential to her writing), which is often related to women's issues; as in scarf, when she uses alternatively gamesome and somber, sometimes superficially constructed bad verse to tell the story of Vera, a woman in her late twenties who works in a scarf store and is both painfully shy and suffering from angst as result of her social circumstances. Bramer has stated before that her style is partly indebted to nineteenth-century women writers such as Emily Dickinson
, and, perhaps, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
.
Two literary ideologies that appear to inform Bramer's poetry are Surrealism
and Imagism
- the former in her tending towards surreal situations and lightness of tone (she has cited Charles Simic
as a major influence), and the latter in her frequently imagistic verse, which often reflects Canadian poet Roo Borson
's fixation on the image as a means to convey poetic content (though this approach is probably also influenced by Generation of '27
poets such as Federico García Lorca
). Notably, Imagist poet Ezra Pound
is alluded to ambiguously in her poem "Urban Restaurant", wherein he is fictitiously described as "Ezra, the new saucier."
whenever we think of resurrection
we think of lazarus rolling over
mumbling sickness in his sleep, death (the idea
of leaving) something we dreamt up
like p a r a d i s e: the long word you repeated
while feverish and still trying to be funny.
love for someone ill becomes uncomplicated,
this is what we dislike most about dying.
you read my poem and said: this is wrong, my body is not
a crushed flower
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
poet (born 1973). Born in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, she attended York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
before publishing her first book, suitcases and other poems, which won the Hamilton and Region Arts Council Book Award. Over the next few years, she resided in Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, where she helped found the Bookshelf Poetry Contest. Settling in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Bramer published scarf in 2001, a book of poems which tells the story of Vera, a single woman working in a scarf store in Hamilton. scarf received praise from Canadian literary critics, perhaps exemplified by the Antigonish
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Antigonish is a Canadian town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous highland games in North America.-History:...
Review's comment that it is an "intriguing book about loneliness and searching". 2005 saw Bramer's first book of poems published by Coach House Books
Coach House Books
Coach House Books is an independent Canadian publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario. Coach House publishes innovative and experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundaries of convention.-History:The company was...
, The Refrigerator Memory. Incorporating a broad range of imagery, the poems in The Refrigerator Memory were also well-received. Currently, Bramer lives in Toronto with her husband and two daughters. Her latest publication is a chapbook written to raise proceeds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
, Be Mine.
Style
Bramer's poems are typically sparse in diction, and frequently "borrow from" and invent "fables and "fairy tales" - often surreal accounts of transpirations that occur on a day-to-day basis, as in "the psychology of a leaf" when she personifies leaves as if they were a human demographic. Her work differs significantly from both avant-gardeAvant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
Canadian poetry and more traditional, narrative poetry in that it is not pervasively influenced by either a particular school of experimentalism - Sound poetry
Sound poetry
Sound poetry is an artistic form bridging between literary and musical composition, in which the phonetic aspects of human speech are foregrounded instead of more conventional semantic and syntactic values; "verse without words"...
, for example - or the Western literary canon
Western canon
The term Western canon denotes a canon of books and, more broadly, music and art that have been the most important and influential in shaping Western culture. As such, it includes the "greatest works of artistic merit." Such a canon is important to the theory of educational perennialism and the...
. This is perhaps credible to her influences, which suggest a reliance more on oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
- the Mother Goose
Mother Goose
The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
stories and rhymes being a good example, as they're transcriptions based on historically popular folk tales for children - than on conventional literary approaches.
Another significant attribute of Bramer's poetry is that it is tonally feminine, as well as less aurally harsh than the poetry of her Canadian predecessors including Bronwen Wallace
Bronwen Wallace
Bronwen Wallace was a Canadian poet and short story writer.Wallace was born in Kingston, Ontario. She attended Queen's University, Kingston . In 1970, she moved to Windsor, Ontario, where she founded a women's bookstore and became active in working class and women's activist groups...
and Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
. This tendency toward gentle or playful phrasing runs in stark contrast with the themes addressed in her work (and, by extension, generates a tension essential to her writing), which is often related to women's issues; as in scarf, when she uses alternatively gamesome and somber, sometimes superficially constructed bad verse to tell the story of Vera, a woman in her late twenties who works in a scarf store and is both painfully shy and suffering from angst as result of her social circumstances. Bramer has stated before that her style is partly indebted to nineteenth-century women writers such as Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
, and, perhaps, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform...
.
Two literary ideologies that appear to inform Bramer's poetry are Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and Imagism
Imagism
Imagism was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. The Imagists rejected the sentiment and discursiveness typical of much Romantic and Victorian poetry. This was in contrast to their contemporaries, the Georgian poets,...
- the former in her tending towards surreal situations and lightness of tone (she has cited Charles Simic
Charles Simic
Dušan "Charles" Simić is a Serbian-American poet, and was co-Poetry Editor of the Paris Review. He was appointed the fifteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 2007.-Early years:...
as a major influence), and the latter in her frequently imagistic verse, which often reflects Canadian poet Roo Borson
Roo Borson
Ruth Elizabeth Borson, who writes under the name Roo Borson is a Canadian poet who lives in Toronto. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia....
's fixation on the image as a means to convey poetic content (though this approach is probably also influenced by Generation of '27
Generation of '27
The Generation of '27 was an influential group of poets that arose in Spanish literary circles between 1923 and 1927, essentially out of a shared desire to experience and work with avant-garde forms of art and poetry. Their first formal meeting took place in Seville in 1927 to mark the 300th...
poets such as Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
). Notably, Imagist poet Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
is alluded to ambiguously in her poem "Urban Restaurant", wherein he is fictitiously described as "Ezra, the new saucier."
Quotation: tricking the fever
for Jeremywhenever we think of resurrection
we think of lazarus rolling over
mumbling sickness in his sleep, death (the idea
of leaving) something we dreamt up
like p a r a d i s e: the long word you repeated
while feverish and still trying to be funny.
love for someone ill becomes uncomplicated,
this is what we dislike most about dying.
you read my poem and said: this is wrong, my body is not
a crushed flower
Poetry, Main Collections
- suitcases and other poems (Exile Editions, 1999, ISBN 1-55096-542-5)
- scarf (McArthur & Co/Exile, 2001, ISBN 1-55096-634-0)
- The Refrigerator Memory (Coach House Press, 2005, ISBN 1-55245-154-2)
Poetry, Chapbooks
- poem(s) on the stairs (above/ground press, 2002, ISBN 1-894214-60-9)
- Fishings (BookThug, 2007, ISBN 978-1-897388-12-9)
- Be Mine (BookThug, 2010, ISBN 978-1-897388-64-8)