Does the past mean only what we want it to? Can anything at all be learned from a photgraph of a scrap of forgotten language? In Learning Russian, Diana Fitzgerald Bryden asks these and other questions with clear-eyed, compelling honesty, as she examines the seductive lure of the past. Rejecting easy nostalgia, she uncovers the roots of home in the hidden life of cities, in the family ties to the living and the dead, and in language itself through the work of the writers who inspire her. The poems of Learning Russian are haunted and haunting, infused with longing and the certainty of loss, they show what can be recovered, or made new, through poetry.

Essayist, reviewer, columnist, and poet, Diana Fitzgerald Bryden’s poetry has appeared in two Insomniac Press anthologies (Beds and Shotguns and The Last Word) and Vintage96, a League of Canadian Poets anthology published by Quarry Press. Her poems have also been published in magazines and journals including Shift, Alphabet City, and The Globe & Mail. She was a winner in the League of Canadian Poets National Poetry Contest in 1996, and one of her essays was shortlisted for the 1998 Canadian Literary Awards. Bryden explores her love of the Russian language and Russian poets in her poetry. She poses questions about the impact of the past on identities in the present, especially for the immigrant from of a diverse cultural heritage living “in between” cultures.

Diana Fitzgerald Bryden's profile page

There are times when reviewing a book of poetry is just a joy. Liquid gold poured onto the paper. This is what we who review other peoples' poetry hope for. Such was the task of reviewing Diana Fitzgerald Bryden's Learning Russian.Ó (The Danforth Review)