The weight of history lies on the spine of memory. That heft and delicate balance are palpable in these rich poems that echo with grief, longing, and observed beauty. From the silence and complexity of the northern wilderness to the vast prairie landscapes stretching across the province, Through Disassembled Houses of Perfect Stones explores self, ancestry, and community through poems which dwell on the page with a satisfying density of imagery. Combining careful observation with sensitive reflection, this work examines the poet’s memory and experience as a father, son, husband, and descendent of European settlers married into an Indigenous family living in Northern Manitoba.
“David Yerex Williamson writes at the confluence of rivers, family and history. These poems, rich with compassion and open-hearted curiosity, are themselves perfect stones, marking place and time in evocative language. From the skin of a poplar to a grandmother’s piano, to the ice on northern winter roads to the raven watching from a distance, the moments in these poems divine the particular to reveal the essence of the human condition. This accomplished debut is a gift, brimming with the wisdom of a seasoned observer.”
– Lorri Neilsen Glenn, former Poet Laureate, Halifax, winner of the Miramichi Reader’s Best Book for Non-fiction: Following the River, 2019, professor emerita, Mount St. Vincent University, NS.
“… these poems are beautifully evocative of place and evince a close attention to the particularities of land and its inhabitants through shifting seasons… in the entanglement of history and place that occurs throughout.”
– Emily McGiffin, poet, lecturer (UBC), winner of the 2008 Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, Writers Trust of Canada, co-chair, Association of Literature, Environment; Culture Canada
“This manuscript is so rich with incredible imagery – unbeatable imagery of place. There is a very strong narrative—an incredible sense of love and loss woven throughout…”
– Chelene Knight, poet, editor, winner of the 2018 Vancouver Book Award for Dear Current Occupant
“The weight of history lies on the spine of memory, Williamson writes. That heft and delicate balance are palpable in these rich poems that echo with grief, longing, and observed beauty. From the silence and complexity of the Northern Manitoba wilderness to the province’s wide prairie, Through disassembled houses of perfect stones explores self, ancestry, and community through poems which dwell on the page with a satisfying density of imagery. Combining careful observation with sensitive reflection, this work examines the poet’s memory and experience as a father, son, husband, and descendent of European settlers married into an Indigenous family and living in the North. Reading them, I felt deeply moved by the contemplation and accounting of all those weighty, perfect stones.”
– Lauren Carter, poet, novelist, winner of the 2020 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction, finalist in CBC’s 2017 Poetry Contest, winner of ROOM Poetry Contest, 2014, Writer in Residence, 2020-21 Winnipeg Millennium Library
This book was made with the generous support of the Manitoba Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.
