As a keen photographer, Jean Greenberg's eye is trained to spot the bizarre or unusual in ordinary urban street scenes. As a skilled poet, she is able to turn her observations into lively, amusing, and often quintessentially urban poems. Although many of the poems are set in Toronto, Israel, South America, and Europe appear in her poetic snap-shots. By bringing disparate items into focus Greenberg creates a scene, and suggests, rather than beats us over the head with it's subtle cohesion. A Chinese father playing with his child on a swing, a homeless man and the poet practising Tai Chi, Greenberg shows us how a city takes life in an instant. The book is not divided into sections, so it moves along at full speed, taking the readers breath away with the rush of constantly changing images. Turning dirt into jewels is illustrated with the wonderfully quirky pen and ink drawing of Joe Rosenblatt, reinforcing the wonder of this debut collection.

Jean Greenberg's profile page

Jean Greenberg grew up in Welland, ON, and has lived and worked in Toronto since her university years. She is a librarian who writes and edits information about community services and women's health. She has a son and a grandson and is an avid amateur photographer. This is her first collection of poetry.