Cheer Up, Jay Ritchie
Ritchie discovers and obstructs truths, like the difficulty of being at the bar and being a lilac bush simultaneously.
I bought tear-resistant pants
just in case
I'm not
a good guy underneath it all,
being honest in discreet doses
to underpaid retail employees.
With an alternating sense of wonder and detachment, Jay Ritchie's first full-length collection of poetry grapples with death, disappointment, love, emails – the large and small subjects of daily life. His unflagging sense of humour and aphoristic delivery create a work that is personable yet elevated, witty, and honest.
Reviews
‘With their clever – but never glib – concision of image, and emotional directedness, these poems actually make me feel something, and that is something I really enjoy.’
– Rebecca Wolff, author of One Morning—‘Ritchie throws black holes on the wall, disappears through them. His poems are like dreams dreamed mid-movement, just before something happens, as if light, buildings, breath, parakeets, hope, haircuts, Montreal, and art-making are all fragments of the same epiphany.’
– Sean Michaels, Giller Prize-winning author of Us Conductors‘Charming, funny, and often elegant. This is a formidable collection.’
– Ben Fama, author of Fantasy
?With their clever - but never glib - concision of image, and emotional directedness, these poems actually make me feel something, and that is something I really enjoy. '
- Rebecca Wolff, author of One Morning-?Ritchie throws black holes on the wall, disappears through them. His poems are like dreams dreamed mid-movement, just before something happens, as if light, buildings, breath, parakeets, hope, haircuts, Montreal, and art-making are all fragments of the same epiphany. '
- Sean Michaels, Giller Prize-winning author of Us Conductors?Charming, funny, and often elegant. This is a formidable collection. '
- Ben Fama, author of Fantasy