Hastings-Sunrise is a love letter to a fleeting place and time. Bren
Simmers's second collection captures her old East Vancouver
neighbourhood in the midst of upheaval. As it is colonized by tides of
matching plaid and diners serving pulled-pork pancakes, condo
developments replace the small businesses and cheap rentals that once
gave the area its charm.
Much like opening a set of nesting dolls, leafing through the collection
exposes further layers of depth and intimacy. Within the context of
cultural change, Simmers explores the meaning to be found in everyday
things: the making of a home, the life built from daily routines. At the
same time, she reveals the dissonance that can occur between personal
and large-scale change: "Twitter feed of melting sea ice, / colony
collapse / while we picnic under pink ribbons, / kiss again like we mean
it."
Throughout the collection, the poet's eye unfailingly lights on the
perfect details to evoke a scene: "On Mr. Donair's spit, / the earth
rotates. Papal smoke emits / from Polonia Sausage, semis shunt /
downtown." Visual poems forming maps of Christmas lights and autumn
colours further bring the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood to life,
illustrating the interweaving of human and natural spaces and locating
"home" in between.
Like a tree clothed in multicoloured yarn or a miniature house filled
with free books, Hastings-Sunrise is a gift to readers, beautiful in
its simplicity.
