An Annotated Bibliography of Works on P.K. Page (1985-2002)

The following bibliography was prepared by Erin Whitmore, a graduate student in the Canadian Studies and Native Studies Masters program at Trent University, under the supervision of Zailig Pollock. It consist of an update of "Part II: Works on PK. Page" of John Orange's bibliography in Volume 6 of

the Annotated Bibliography of Canada's Major Authors. Each section of this bibliography is organized chronologically. We would like to thank Sandra Djwa, Cynthia Messenger, John Orange and Brian Trehearne for their comments and suggestions.

Articles and sections of Books

Bentley, D.M.R. "? Subtle Mourning': P.K. Page's 'The Permanent Tourists.'" In "Literary Theory in the Classroom: Three Views of P.K. Page's 'The Permanent Tourists.'" Canadian Poetry 19 (Fall-Winter 1986): 68-73.

Bentley undertakes a reading of Page's "The Permanent Tourists" in the context of the "baseland orientation in Canadian poetry." Bentley's analysis focusses primarily on instances of mise en paysage developing a "poem/photograph parallel" out of the "rectilinear stanzas," as well as the "modes of representation involved in the poem - poetry and photography." Included are excerpts from two letters written to Page, in which she is questioned concerning this "stanza/photograph parallel" and to which she replies "the rectangular stanzas - I may well have thought of them as photographs.... all I can say is that if I didn't think of it at the time, I should have!" Bentley studies in detail the penultimate stanza. Page's poem is a "product of high modernism" as is evidenced in its "elevated conception of art and the artist." Bentley concludes that despite the seeming "[inescapability] of being a permanent tourist," in poetry "of the baseland orientation ... in our encounters with fellow tourists, there will be at least moments of clairvoyance and empathy when gaps drop."

Neuman, Shirley. "Teaching P.K. Page's 'The Permanent Tourists.'" In "Literary Theory in the Classroom: Three Views of P.K. Page's 'The Permanent Tourists.'" Canadian Poetry 19 (Fall-Winter 1986): 65-68.

Neuman undertakes a "close reading" of Page's "The Permanent Tourists," choosing to "!emphasize] the tropes and rhetorical structure rather than the image." In doing so Neuman focusses on three figures: the first "playing on the physics of light," inquires "how do tourists see?"; the second, "exploring Otherness,'" suggests that the tourists "are Other'" in the "foreign cities they enter"; the third considers "the oxymoron of the poem's title," asking how "can those who travel ... be permanent?" A consideration of these three figures leads Neuman to propose that the "rhetorical structure" of the poem is "consistently oxymoronic," playing off "emptiness and reflection, otherness and essence, tourism and permanence." In her reading Neuman "attempts to be self-conscious about the reader."

Ricou, Laurie. "Literary Theory in the Classroom: Three Views of P.K. Page's 'The Permanent Tourists': Introduction." Canadian Poetry 19 (Fall-Winter 1986): 57-59.

Page's poem "The Permanent Tourists" is chosen to be considered critically by three critics selected by Ricou: Kay Stockholder, Shirley Neuman and D.M.R. Bentley. This is part of the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Universities Teachers of English (ACUTE) in 1985. The aim is to discover "how our theoretical positions, as academic critics and writers, affect what we do in the classroom." When asked for permission to distribute a copy of the poem at the conference, Page, after agreeing, states, "I find it all quite hilarious and hope you don't mind my mirth. It is hard to believe that one is taken seriously."

Stockholder, Kay. "Devouring Eyes in The Permanent Tourists' and Cry Ararat!" In "Literary Theory in the Classroom: Three Views of P.K. Page's 'The Permanent Tourists.'" Canadian Poetry 19 (Fall-Winter 1986): 59-64.

Stockholder provides a detailed analysis of "The Permanent Tourists." The narrating voice moves from a "visual distance ... into a moral distance" and places the speaker "physically ... morally ... and historically distant from the monuments." It is, however, in maintaining this "distance" that the speaker "becomes like" those she watches. It is through the "river image" that the "merger between the tourist and the monuments" take place. Stockholder does not like the "snobbishness" of the poem and it is by considering the rest of the poems in the volume that she is more inclined towards it, despite maintaining that it is "the worst poem of the volume." Read in the context of the other poems in Cry Ararat! "The Permanent Tourists" is a "turning point in a poetic enterprise to resolve fears that impeded the poetic expression of individuated emotions toward other human beings, perceived as separate entities."

Johnston, George. "A Note on Rhythms, Exemplified in a Fan Letter to PK." West Coast Review 22.2 (Fall 1987): 23-26.

While "rhythm is one of the most significant" characteristics of poetry, it is virtually absent from poets writing today in English and is replaced by a sort of "prose rhythm." This analysis of poetry is focussed on "observations of what is called content, and [ignores] such traits as rhythm and diction." Page's poetry has "its distinct rhythms" that "are almost altogether measured" and that result in "a ground-swell rhythm that is recognizable as [Page's]." Written in the form of a "fan letter" to Page, Johnston's article praises and compares "Poem in War Time" and "Concentration." he characterizes Page's "love of poetry" as "generous, not solemn, not envious, and ... not tak[ing] on airs. It is many-sided as life."

Orange, John. "P.K. Page and her Works." Canadian Writers and Their Works: Poetry Series, Vol. 6. Eds. Robert Lecker, Jack David and Ellen Quigley. Downsview, ON: ECW Press, 1987. 219-73.

Orange's "P.K. Page and her Works" is divided into three sections: "Biography," "Tradition and Milieu" and "Page's Works." In the first section, Orange provides a brief overview of Page's life, stating that "the most noticeable characteristic of [her life] has been her breadth of experience." In the second section, he traces "the traditions out of which Page's poetry grows," including the French Symbolists, Surrealism and modernism. Despite Page's conformity to the modernist aesthetic of Preview, she maintains "a constant note of transcendental symbolism." After Page's "ten-year silence" her poems "are more personal, more tightly controlled, and more intensely felt statements." Specific influences are listed, including Rilke, Auden, Eliot, Cecil Day Lewis, Wilfred Owen, Stephen Spender and Wallace Stevens, amongst others. In the third section, Orange provides a detailed overview of Page's written work, identifying prominent themes, images and influences in each collection. He provides a detailed analysis of The Sun and the Moon as well as her first attempts at poetry, noting that these are "strained and self-conscious light pieces on heavy subjects." he shows how certain elements of The Sun and the Moon are present in As Ten As Twenty, including "the use of imagery to allude to states of mind and soul," "the generally feminist attitudes" and "the impulse to construct a mythopoeic vision." Orange identifies the theme of "restlessness" as the "most predominant characteristic of the pre-1946 poems." Poems published between 1946 and 1954 "contain familiar imagery" and it is in "Arras" where the "most complex description of the process of heightening perception and altering consciousness" is found. Between 1967 and 1974, Page's poems become "more personal ... and the tone is more urgent, assertive, and confident." Orange considers Page's short stories, citing "Unless the Eye Catch Fire" as the most successful.

Voldeng, Evelyne. "P.K. Page ou la qute d'un autre espace." Canadian Literature 129 (t 1991): 138-50.

P.K. Pago's work demonstrates how the visionary eye of imagination has the power to transform the multiplicity of the world of sensation perceived by the sensual eye of the poet and painter. Voldeng explores the quest in Page's work for a spiritual vision of unity that transcends the antithesis and conflict of our experience of the material world. Her earlier works are characterized by a Manichean contrast between metal and flower, black and white, alienation and innocence. Beginning with Cry Ararat! she becomes increasingly concerned with the possibility of an imaginative dialectic leading to a synthesis of these opposites through "une ecriture poetique ou sous la forme de l'oxymore et de Ia synesthesie cultivee domine la simultaneite des apparement contraires."

Durrant, Geoffrey. "P.K. Page's 'Portrait of Marina.'" Inside the Poem: Essays and Poems in Honour of Donald Stephens. Ed.W.H. New. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1992. 174-76.

Durrant provides a close reading of Page's "Portrait of Marina."

Woodcock, George. "Smith's People: Margaret Avison, P.K. Page, Jay Macpherson, Anne Wilkinson, Ralph Gustafson." George Woodcock's Introduction to Canadian Poetry. Toronto: ECW Press, 1993. 101-03.

Woodcock sees Page's career as a process of development from the "highly introspective and socially simplistic perceptions of her early poems" to a "liberation from the alienated, imprisoned self." Her poetry from Cry Ararat! on is marked by a "calm, metaphysical confidence" and "high craftsmanship." She is "a writer of English verse with few rivals anywhere in the anglophone world."

Freake, Douglas. "The Multiple Self in the Poetry of P.K. Page." Studies in Canadian Literature 19.1 (1994): 94-114.

Freake wants to explore "Page's interest in the problematics of the self" through her concerns "about the relations between identity and language, self and mask, and subjectivity and reality." Page's sense of multiple selves and her search for a union of these selves is "among the most important subjects in her poetry" as shown in "Reflections in a Train Window" and "If it Were You." Some of Page's early poetry, particularly "Dwelling Place" and "The Selves," provides examples of the "parts into which the self can be divided." Beyond these "constituent parts" of the self, Page is predominantly interested in the "self's relation to the world," as is shown in "Only Child" and "Cook's Mountains"; and this extends to an exploration of the consciousness of a "supra-sense" in poems such as "Snowman" and "In Class We Create Ourselves." Page offers a "resolution to the problematics of self" in poems such as "Another Space," "A Backward Journey" and "Deaf Mute in the Pear Tree" where, in locating a centred self or "supra-self," she signifies being "at home in the world." Page's "Address at Simon Fraser" offers the most concise commentary on the "mysteries of selfhood and identity"; here, "a centred existence" created by a recognition of the blending of multiple consciousnesses and a sense "of alignment with the world around us" stands as the "resolution to the problematics of the self."

Messenger, Cynthia. "'But How Do You Write a Chagall?'; Ekphrasis and the Brazilian Poetry of P.K. Page and Elizabeth Bishop." Canadian Literature 142/143 (Winter 1994): 102-17.

Despite the difference between Page and Bishop as poets, Messenger observes that "Brazil confronted them with the inadequacies of language, requiring them both to respond by re-visioning their art." Similarities can be drawn between Bishop and Page by focussing on their work in Brazil in an examination of how "travel poets write against a foreign surface." Identifying certain poems by both poets as "ekphrastic," Messenger finds attempts by Bishop and Page to "write 'visual art.'" John Hollander's concept of "notional ekphrasis" is favoured as it allows the analysis of "many poems that might otherwise be ignored in a discussion of rhetorical strategies and the problem of visual/verbal representation." Unable to represent Brazil properly through language, Page turns to painting. Initially "painting exactly what she sees" - though "her eye is interpreting Brazil through a whole cast of modern painters" - Page moves on to "signify Brazil only through synecdoche" as is evident in "labyrinthine constructions" that, in seeming to "rebuke the very possibility of mimesis" are further evidence of continued difficulty in "representing Brazil." Although Page is said to have been unable to write while in Brazil, Messenger unearths two previously unpublished poems composed in Brazil, "Could I Write a Poem Now" and "Some Paintings by Portinari." These poems are "crucial" in understanding the "relationship between visual and verbal art in [Page's] work."

Ellis, Sarah. "Seeing the Sea: The Fairytales of P.K. Page." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 68-71.

Page is placed in the company of "modern practitioners of the fairy tale" alongside Alan Garner, Jane Yolen and Richard Kennedy. Although "A Flask of Sea Water" stretches the conventions of the fairy tale form with a "[high] degree of psychological realism" and a number of fantasy-like elements, it remains in the "classic fairy tale mode" with its "strong patterned structure." "The Goat That Flew" is a "companion tale" to "A Flask" in which Page "adopts a more episodic structure and a more tongue in cheek tone." The success of Page's tales lies in her "links with the oral tradition."

Fisher, Don. "Eastern Perspectives in the Work of P.K. Page." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 129-34.

It is possible to do an "Eastern reading" of certain works by Page, particularly "Unless the Eye Catch Fire." It becomes clear that in much of Page's work, she asks the reader to "come to art with a willingness to go beyond our predominantly secular western perspectives and into a more transpersonal realm." This "transpersonal realm" is signified by the many images and metaphors in Page's work that resist the dualistic thought in much western thinking, favouring rather a move towards what "many monistic Eastern systems of thought and religion call 'unified consciousness.'" Page's "Eastern inclinations" are evident in poems such as "Suffering," "Backwards Journey" and particularly "Unless the Eye Catch Fire." Reading this story/play as a movement towards "unified consciousness" is favoured over the more "straightforward" reading of the story as a call for environmental awareness. Page's writing of a "move toward this state of 'unified consciousness'" is characterized by "the death of [the] ego-bounded self; the dropping away of dualistic consciousness and of 'maya' or the conditioned illusions we impose upon reality; a liberation from desire, craving, and expectation, and an awakening of the heart with a corresponding increase of compassion and sense of community" (131). Each of these characteristics can be read alongside various insights from Buddhist, Hindi and Taoist thought.

Killian, Laura. "Poetry and the Modern Woman: P.K. Page and the Gender of Impersonality." Canadian Literature 150 (Fall 1996): 86-105.

Page, in "neither [acknowledging] nor openly [rebelling] against a 'female poetic tradition'" as well as in her avoidance of recording "women's personal experience" in her writing, "poses a distinct dilemma for the feminist critic." Killian attempts to decipher "Page's ... modernist aesthetic," and posits "a central paradox in the poems" where the "'extracted' I/eye," usually assumed feminine, is characterized by Page "as masculine" and it is the "impersonal objective eye" that "is characterized by feminine fluidity." Page, however, "does not, or cannot, sustain ... the splitting of the female subject implicit in the modernist aesthetic." In Page's "After Rain" we find a "very serious critique of modernism's anti-sentimental and anti-subjective stance"; Page both "[(re)introduces] the poet's subjectivity" and takes the risk of "being labeled a sentimental poetess." Likewise, in "Arras," Page attempts a "new wholeness of vision" through the "entrance of the poet's female, subjective self." This "wholeness" is achieved through Page's "[abandonment of] the formalist doctrine" in favour of "revisioning and actively constructing a healed and whole poetic self."

McDougall, Anne. "RK. Irwin, the Painter." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 94-98.

McDougall traces the development of Page as a painter. Page begins drawing with a feltnibbed pen. Moving away from realist drawing, she "[begins] to try abstracts" and use colour with oil paints, oil pastels and egg tempera. Her work as a visual artist continues when she is in Mexico and even when she begins writing again with artwork included in Cry Ararat!, THe Glass Air and Hologram. Included are reproductions of the following (Page) Irwin paintings: Stone Fruit, Plant Forms (1980s), Plant Forms (1960), Cumulus, Dark Globe, Church Interior, Beach Scene, Cityscape, So Paulo, Our Garden, Undercover Chairs, Still Life with Life, Drawing Room and Poos de Caldas.

Paul, Nancy. "'Redressing the Balance': Female and Male in the Early Poetry of PK. Page." Essays on Canadian Writing 58 (Spring 1996): 115-35.

Paul begins by inquiring as to "why ... feminists [have] been so reluctant to claim Page as one of their own." She considers "Page's treatment of girl and boys, women and men, as 'characters'" in her early poetry, in order to document how she "represents male and female ways of knowing and understanding." In doing so, Paul re-reads important critical work on Page and "offers some possible reasons for her lack of impact in feminist literary circles." Paul undertakes a comprehensive review of girls and boys in Page's early poetry, claiming that while "male children are individualized," "female children [remain] undifferentiated." In a consideration of poems such as "The Stenographers," "Typists," "Presentation" and "Summer Resort," Paul focusses on adult females in Page's work, deducing that although they "have the potential to fulfil their empathctic destinies," societal constraints and the differences between "female and male ways of knowing" make the realization of such destinies "impossible." While Page is unforgiving of the "spiritual lethargy of the women," she is critical of the rejection by men of the "female way of knowing." Despite this, Page's "sympathies tend to come back to the lonely men" who seem to be open and "capable of moral agency" whereas women, in poems such as "The Landlady" and "No Flower" are not. It is in Page's poems of love ("Adolescence," "T-Bar," "And We Too" and "The Apple") where "a momentary coming together of the two polarities that constitute humanity's bifocal vision" is possible. Page's "The Flower and the Rock" is deemed "an exquisite summary of the male/female opposition" in her work. Paul considers the differences between Relke's and Rooke's reading of "Arras" and in turn offers her own reading, suggesting that "because it provides glimpses of the poet's acknowledgement of, and debt to, a poetic tradition predominantly male, 'Arras' has ... presented to Page's female admirers an obstacle to their endorsement of her work." Paul also considers the "clear gender oppositions" in Page's "After Rain."

Ruzesky, Jay. "Life on Mars." Afterword. Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 155-56.

Ruzesky reflects on putting together the special issue on Page of the Malahat Review. Doris Lessing is mentioned. Although not a contributor to the issue, she says "she looks forward to more of P.K.'s work." The special issue is presented as a tribute to Page's "idea of connection" as well as to "honour the source of writing: the spring that flows through one writer to another, and through readers." Page is likened to a "crystal that focuses [that] energy, and ... shines brightly in her."

Sullivan, Rosemary. "Hologram." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 121-28.

In Page's "Hologram," "she becomes a journeyman again" (121) and should be lauded for her "nerve in experimenting" as opposed to doing only what is familiar. The importance of Hologram lies in its outright refusal of the idea of a "lost ... capacity for metaphorical thinking" and alienation "from our own dreams." Sullivan attempts to answer the questions "What is poetry?" and "What is it to be PK. Page?" in order to enter into a discussion of Hologram. It is the "poetic form" that acts as the motivation behind Hologram. Page is attracted to the glosa form because of its difficulty and the opportunity it offers to hold "conversations with other poems." The poems in Hologram are "organized to make a narrative of sorts." A brief analysis of each glosa is provided, supplemented by insights from Page herself in letters to Sullivan.

Sullivan, Rosemary. "Meeting in Mexico." Brick: A Literary Journal 55 (Fall 1996): 25-30. Rpt. in Memory-Making: Selected Essays. By Rosemary Sulllivan. Windsor: Black Moss Press, 2001. 25-37.

Sullivan recounts the friendship between Page, Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington while Page was in Mexico. Sullivan visits Mexico and speaks wiLli CarriiigLon. The formation of the friendship and the influences and art of the three women are discussed, as well as a number of amusing anecdotes, particularly one figuring Isaac Stern. Brief biographical information is provided for all three artists.

Bartlett, Brian. "For Sure the Kittiwake: Naming, Nature, and P.K. Page." Canadian Literature 155 (Winter 1997): 91-111. Rpt. in P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 60-93.

Bartlett is primarily concerned with Page's poem "Only Child." Ultimately Bartlett is interested in the implications of naming, particularly in naming nature, in Page's poetry. Presenting two "questionable" polarities - "the extremes of dry, spiritless taxonomy and a dreamy experience of nature (that may show more detachment than engagement)" Bartlett works to examine, imagine and recount, through Page's poetry and Brazilian Journal, as well as through other poets' work as well as his own personal experiences, what may exist in the middle of these two polarities. This middle ground is a place where names, binoculars and human experiences of nature "can be useful without being clinical, they can inspire attentiveness without aggression." Bartlett works from an analysis of "Only Child" - a poem that in Bartlett's opinion resists this middle ground: here, the boy's refusal of naming and taxonomy is not a sign of a more "visionary" relationship to nature, but rather a preoccupation and indifference that rejects nature in favour of "arousing certain sensations within himself." Bartlett, however, looks towards Page's Brazilian Journal as a positive experience of naming. Bartlett also explores the tensions "between the beauties of the given physical world and the powers of a super-transforming eye," that is, the contrast between "matter ... [and] imagination" in Page's work.

Messenger, Cynthia. "Poetry in English 1983 to 1996." Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. 2nd ed. Eds. Eugene Benson and William Toye. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997. 942.

Page is mentioned in this article surveying Canadian poetry between 1983 and 1996 as one of those poets who "rose to prominence in the 1950s ... and have continued to write well into the late 1990s." Page's The Glass Air shows her as a "multidimensional artist." Her use of the "intertextual" glosa form in Hologram "provides a new vehicle for the re-emergence of her earliest images and themes."

Sullivan, Rosemary and George Woodcock. "Page, PK." Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. 2nd ed. Eds. Eugene Benson and William Toye. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997. 898-900.

Sullivan and Woodcock expand upon the entry in the first edition, highlighting the publication of The Glass Air, Hologram and Page's two fairy tales. The glosas in Hologram have an "elegiac quality ... as the poet looks back over a lifetime of experience, yet they build to a celebratory affirmation of the mystery of being human."

Bertelli, Carlo. Rosa die venti/Compass Rose. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1998. 8-9.

Bertelli recalls memories of his childhood prompted by reading "'the timeless isinglass air.'" Stating that it is the "mandate of the historian to re-experience the past, appropriating it and participating in its evolution" Bertelli sees this quotation as "a key" offered by Page so that he might "enter into her process of discovery" and consider the "stories" that are Page's poems.

Cavalli, Patrizia. Rosa die venti/Compass Rose. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1998. 10-11.

Cavalli produces a "schematic list of what [she] thinks are the greatest qualities of [Page's] poems," including "vastness of space," "imagination," "the sound of voice," the absence of hierarchy, and a sense that "everything is whole and absolute."

Conte, Giuseppe. Mimmo Paladino: Works on Paper Inspired by the Poetry of P.K. Page. By Mimmo Paladino. Toronto: Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 1998. 10.

Page's poems "leave one energized and entranced." Conte alludes to a number of images in prominent Page poems. Both Page and Paladino produce "an epic mythical vision of things ... preserving entirely an enigmatic halo of unsolvable mystery."

Gorjup, Branko. "My Absolute Centre: Introduction to 'Compass Rose.'" Rosa die venu/ Compass Rose. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1998. 29-47.

Branko is most concerned with Page's poetry as a "commentary on the confrontation between material and non-material levels of reality," arguing that "for Page, actuality, perceived by reason and dominated by the physical body, is only merely an aspect of a larger reality." Branko reviews brief biographical information, elaborating on differences between Preview and First Statement. Page, in her "insistence on moving beyond the material world" has produced "a body of work like no other in Canadian poetry." Focussing on "the dream" as a "point of entry into the unperceived dimension" that is present in much of Page's work, Branko provides analysis of "Photographs of a Salt Mine," "The Bands and the Beautiful Children," "After Rain," "Cry Ararat!," "Another Space" and "Arras," considering "Cry Ararat!" and "After Rain" in considerable detail. These poems exemplify that "dream and imagination are as significant as the factual and tangible" in the work of Page, "one of the greatest visionary poets Canada has ever produced."

Paladino, Mimmo. Mimmo Paladino: Works on Paper Inspired by the Poetry of P.K. Page. Toronto: Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 1998.

This collection is the catalogue of an exhibition held at Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Toronto, Victoria and Winnipeg. Artwork by Paladino is inspired from Page's poems from The Hidden Room: Collected Poems.

Ricciardi, Caterina. Rosa die venti/Compass Rose. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1998. 12-13.

Ricciardi praises Page's "Stories of Snow," reflecting on how it "[reminds her] of [her] Mediterranean childhood without snow." Page has a "mind of winter" that she "knows how to share ... with her readers."

Rooke, Constance. Rosa die venti/Compass Rose. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1998. 14-15.

Rooke states that "of all poets in any country [Page] she is the one who reaches [Rooke's] 'absolute centre' most completely." Page's ability to express such "wholeness," however, is not the result of an intentional choice; rather it comes from "an exquisite sensibility, an utterly honest heart, and the craft of an Olympian."

Sullivan, Rosemary. Rosa die venti/Compass Rose. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1998. 16-19.

Page's poetry is that of a "great poet" as it "creates an imaginative world that is both large enough and coherent enough for the reader to occupy." To occupy this space is to enter "the world of dreams, of painting, of music, of magic." Sullivan reflects on her 25-year relationship with Page, stating that Page's poetry emerges "from life" and makes known Page's desire "that we live more largely and freely than we are wont to do."

Valente, Francesca. Preface. Mimmo Paladino: Works on Paper Inspired by the Poetry of P.K. Page. By Mimmo Paladino. Toronto: Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 1998. 7-9.

Page and Paladino complement each other in "[achieving] a highly visionary result." One must "enter the realm of dream" in order to "penetrate the world of Paladino and Page." The juxtaposition of works by Page and Paladino is likened to a "kaleidoscope."

Zigaina, Giuseppe. Rose die venti/Compass Rose. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1998. 22-23.

Page's work is a "magical 'all-inclusive metaphor'" that in "[composing] a cryptic modern Apocalypse ... reveals the author's face only in small flashes." Zigaina hints at these "small flashes" through a collection of quotations from various Page poems including "Landlady," "The Typists," "The Stenographers" and "Kaleidoscope." Page is said to "[know] that in order 'to be' there must be two entities." These "small flashes" are "sufficient to let all share the depth of feeling" of Page.

McNeilly, Kevin. "Toward a Poetics of Dislocation: Elizabeth Bishop and P.K. Page Writing 'Brazil.'" Studies in Canadian Literature 23.2 (1998): 85-108.

The "seductive exoticism" that both Page and Bishop attribute to Brazil stands initially "as a source for imagistic rejuvenation" in poetic language as well as a re-vitalization of self. Through foreign travel and the experience of Brazil's "exotic otherness," Page "finds herself changed and displaced into another sense of herself," particularly when returning her "poetic gaze to her former 'home.'" Both poets are self-consciously aware that "they are re-enacting a kind of colonial theft" by their search for self-renewal and self-knowledge within the context of a Brazil cast as "an exotic other." This self-consciousness frustrates the initial "poetic spur" Brazil is for both poets, resulting in Page's "poetic silence" while in Brazil. The poet's "sense of place" is characterized by "indeterminate displacement," which ultimately replaces "the source of the [poet's] own poetic self-remaking." Through attempts to learn/master the Portuguese language, by placing themselves "in opposition" to other American visitors/tourists, and by coming to terms with specific instances of "untranslatability," Page and Bishop explore and experience different moments of this displacement. These moments of "dissociation" are eventually expressed in their poetry. Page's "retrospective Brazilian poems of the 1960s" especially "Brazilian House" and "Brazilian Fazenda" are discussed to show how Brazil for Page ultimately does not represent "a singular, identifiable, or culturally determinate space"; rather Page is "articulating ... an ongoing rethinking of self and other, of cosmopolitan and local, of culture and border."

Relke, Diana M.A. "Tracing the Terrestrial Vision in the Early Work of P.K. Page: A Feminist Psychoanalytic Ecoreading." Greenwor(l)ds: Ecomtical Readings of Canadian Women's Poetry. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1999. 235-55. Rpt. of "Tracing a Terrestrial Vision in the Early Work of P.K. Page." Canadian Poetry 35 (Winter 1994): 11-30. <www.arts.uwo.ca/canpoetry/cpjrn/vol35/relke.htm>.

Relke acknowledges the difficult critical practice of "categorizing the poetry of P.K. Page" but suggests a new category within which to place Page - that of a "female ecological tradition in Canadian poetry." Prompted by the "severity of the ecological crisis," Relke sets out by focussing on what Page "may have been trying to tell us about nature and [her] relationship to it." Read alongside the theoretical work of feminist psychoanalytic theorist Jessica Benjamin, Page's poetry may be understood in new "ecological" ways through Benjamin's "intersubjective mode of spatial representation." Posited in contrast to the "intrapsychic mode of symbolic representation, in which the phallus is the organizer of desire," the intersubjective mode suspends our "binary habits of thought," which are ultimately responsible for unecological ways of being and relating to the world. As opposed to the binary habits of an intrapsychic mode, the intersubjective mode is "associated with empathy." In this vein, Relke rereads "The Sun and the Moon," "Reflection in a Train Window," "Spring," "After Rain" and "Arras," showing that Page's "poetry of so-called mystical vision" holds also a "terrestrial vision." Page's "ecological poetics" is related to that of Margaret Avison, Isabella Valancy Crawford, Dorothy Livesay, Phyllis Webb and Margaret Atwood.

Trehearne, Brian. "Imagist Twilight: Page's Early Poetry." The Montreal Forties: Modernist Poetry in Transition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. 41-105.

Interested in explanations for Page's "middle silence" in the context of the literary history of Canada in the 1940s, Trehearne undertakes a reading of "After Rain" as a way of establishing a potential "connection ... between a biographical phenomenon ... and a literary one." Concluding that "silence is not a sufficient context for readings of 'After Rain,'" Trehearne looks to various aspects of the "literary-historical nexus" in which Page's poetry was produced. In so doing, he hopes to "illuminate not only the Canadian poet, but the contexts themselves, particularly the contradictions of Imagist practice and inheritance that still engaged poetry of the 1940s in English." Trehearne explores in detail the influence of the First Statement and Preview experience on Page's work, particularly the criticism received from Sutherland. He proceeds to investigate the ways in which Page's "poetics ... negotiate the relation between the local image ... and the integrity of the whole poem." This investigation leads him to rename the "desire for a new wholeness for modernist poetics" as "integritas." He investigates the various "sources of integritas" in Page's work, suggesting that the "aesthetic dimension" of her middle silence is explained through her negotiations of the "difficult relation between part and whole, between image and intgras." Concluding with a discussion of "Cry Ararat!" Trehearne argues that Page's "work on either side of the middle silence engages ideas of poetic wholeness that were vital and broadly shared, in Montreal and elsewhere, during the Preview and First Statement years."

Jamieson, Sara. "'Now That I Am Dead': P.K. Page and the Self-Elegy." Canadian Literature 166 (Fall 2000): 63-82.

Citing the "ambivalence" of the task of the self-elegist to "imagine his own death in ways that allow him to demonstrate his ascendancy over it and master his fears, but... also come to terms with death's ultimate authority," Jamieson sets out to examine Page's "unique handling of the form." Fundamentally Jamieson identifies two types of self-elegies that Page works with: those that "[anticipate] her own death" and those that anticipate her own death while simultaneously undertaking a "celebration of her life's accomplishments." In reading the first type of self-elegy, Jamieson hopes to look beyond a simple and "consoling" acceptance of death to the "undercurrents of resistance" that characterize Page's work as she "exposes the inadequacy" of these narratives of easy acceptance and repression of death. In the second type, Jamieson seeks to explore the way "art" acts as a "consolation" or "antidote" to old age and death. Jamieson chooses to highlight the sense of "self-renewal" that comes at the transitional moments in Page's poetry, rather than considering the poems as "unchanging artifacts" or attempts at "immortality." The "remaking of the poetic vision" is seen as a "remaking of the self" where this new vision is "substituted for the poet's mortal body." In this vein, then, "immortality" is achieved through a continuous reenvisioning of the poetic vision, through a "pattern of self-renewal" that gains its ultimate achievements in the glosa form in Hologram and is carried further through the glosas written by other poets using Page's poetry as starting points. In this conversation between poets, "immortality" for Page is "attained" while "the lines of conversation are kept open between the past and present, and beyond."

McNeilly, Kevin. "Home Economics." Canadian Literature 166 (Autumn 2000): 5-9.

Page, along with Elizabeth Bishop, Anne Carson, Louise Bernice Hlfe and Stephanie Bolster, is featured in a special issue of Canadian Literature on "Women and Poetry." Page is mentioned briefly in the introduction. Page's glosa "Poor Bird" is "as porous as it is strict."

Lane, Travis. "Hologram Dimensions: The Poetry of P.K. Page." RK. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 99-109.

The "primary impulse" in Page's poetry is to "shape the poem toward beauty - stylizing, exaggerating, with gorgeous effect - rather than to emphasize the mundane particularities of her subjects." Page's work is considered in relation to postmodernism, along with "images of circumscription" in poems such as "The Stenographers" and "Arras."

Messenger, Cynthia. "Canadian Poetry in English." A Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry. London: Blackwell Publishers, 2001. 306-07.

Messenger provides a brief survey of Page as a poet and visual artist. Page "has written her best poems in recent years." Her early work is concerned with social protest but becomes "increasingly inward," beginning in the 1950s. Her later work, both poetry and visual art, reflects her growing interest in mysticism, especially Sufism. Page's "sense of the interconnectedness of the cosmos has led to a return, in some of her later poems, to social protest, particularly in the form of environmental advocacy."

Pearce, Barbara Colebrook and Kelly Parsons. "Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart: Praise, Shadow and Dimensions of Eternity in the Poetry of P.K. Page." P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 37-55.

Page is deemed a "metaphysician in the best sense of the word." The role of "praise" in Page's poetry is discussed as a method by which Page emphasizes interconnection between all things on earth. Praise is also linked to the "golden" imagery in Page's poetry. This "praise" is often accompanied by exploring the "shadow," "the sense of loss of that which is praised." Page mediates between these two images: "the beatific vision of the golden is balanced by images of grief, loss, the denaturing of earth, the vanishing of colour and warmth." Page's search for and expression of other dimensions is explored as shown through the "dual aspect of the self" in her poetry.

Rogers, I.inda. "P.K. Pngc, The Alchemist." P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. F.ds. Lindn Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 14-21.

Rogers explores the number of different ways Page is thought about through a loosely chronological record of her life. Page is referred to a number of times as a "gypsy" - "it is the gypsy who calls her work 'play.'" Page's dealings with Dorothy Livesay, the Preview poets and the Queen Mother are discussed briefly. Page's shift to visual art is discussed, with the point that Page "was always a painter, even before she knew it."

Rogers, Linda and Barbara Colebrook Pearce, eds. RK. Page: Essays on Her Works. Writers Series 6. Toronto: Guernica, 2001.

This is a collection of articles on Page and her work. It offers a comprehensive bibliography, including primary sources and critical studies.

Rose, Marilyn Russell. "P.K. Page." P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 131-48.

Biographical information is provided. Rose notes the "social responsibility" evident in Page's early poetry but adds that Page seems increasingly interested in the "inner lives of individuals." Rose offers readings of "Photographs of a Salt Mine," "The Permanent Tourists," "Portrait of Marina" and "Arras." She deems Page's most "impressive" poetry that "which reflects her ... interest in ... transcendental or metaphysical experience," considering "Cry Ararat!" and "After Rain" as evidence. Despite the difficulty of Page's work, "those who give themselves over to it" will be "richly repaid."

Young, Patricia. "A Reading of P.K. Page's 'Arras.'" P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 22-31.

Young offers a reading of Arras, arguing that Page "explores her ongoing fascination with human perception and its role in the creative process." The peacock disturbs the "conventional, linear" thought of the poem and transports the narrator "into another state of consciousness." Young explores Page's use of "I" and "eye" in the poem. The lack of other human presences is noted, and Young suggests that one can sense the desire of the narrator "for connection with someone ... who not only sees what she sees but who also exists in the ... three-dimensional world." Young notes the sexual imagery in the poem as a representation of the "perfect union between poet and image."

Godard, Barbara. "Kinds of Osmosis." Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Irwin. Peterborough: Trent University, 2002. 5-12.

In this essay in the catalogue of an exhibition of the art of P.K. Irwin at the Art Gallery of Peterborough, Godard, the exhibition curator, surveys P.K. Page's visual art produced under the name P.K. Irwin, and its relationship to her writing. Godard identifies "boundary play" as a central characteristic of Page/Irwin's art: "One thing becomes another, something shifts or merges in metamorphosis or osmosis." Godard discusses Page/Irwin's development as an artist, noting her interest in art well before her temporary abandonment of poetry for the visual arts in Brazil in the 1950s. She identifies Page/Irwin's affinity for Paul Klee's "proceed[ing] from a sensed form to develop a singular iconography" and for "surrealistic depiction of objects through the filter of altered consciousness." Godard provides a brief biography of Page/Irwin, a list of exhibitions, and a list of works at the exhibition.

Messenger, Cynthia. "RK. Page." Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. Ed. W.H. New. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.

Messenger discusses Page's biography and her development as both a verbal and a visual artist. Page's work in the 1940s is "rich in metaphysical conceits" and "reflects the socialist/protest politics of the milieu in which she lived." Her poetry of the 1950s continues to explore her social concerns but also shows a growing interest in psychoanalysis and "contemporary ideas about the mind." In the 1950s, during the years she spent in Brazil as wife of Ambassador Arthur Irwin, she turned to the visual arts and, under the name P.K. Irwin, produced a number of pen-and-ink drawings and gouaches inspired by the visual beauty of Brazil. In the years that followed, she began creating complex drawings and paintings reminiscent of Klee. The poetry that Page began to write in the 1960s and the drawings of this period reflect her interest in "the connection between the human spirit and the cosmos" and "her belief in the transcendent power of art and commitment to a life force that binds the one and the many." Her interest in Sufism dates from this period as well, and is reflected in her celebration of "a vitalist force that lives even in the smallest point of connection between the visible realm and the fourth dimension." Messenger ends with a brief survey of painters and musicians inspired by Page's work.

Pollock, Zailig. "Foreword." Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Irwin. Peterborough: Trent University, 2002. 3.

Pollock introduces the catalogue of the exhibition of the visual art of P.K. Page/Irwin and places the exhibition in the context of the conference Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Page.

Poems and Prose Dedicated to Page

Atwood, Margaret. "P.K. Page as a Non-Snow Angel." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 100-01. Rpt. in P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 12-13.

A tribute poem to Page on turning 80.

Barton, John. "The Living Room." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 64-65.

A glosa based on Page's "The Living Room."

Bowering, Marilyn. "Present-Present: The Slipperiness of Time or Becoming a Bird - The Work of P.K. Page: A Few Personal Notes and a Poem." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 104-06.

Bowering writes a short essay/tribute giving insight in Page's poetry through the work of Cree and Shoshone poet Sarain Stump and Inuit carver Karoo Ashevak. In an attempt to answer "what [Page] is up to," Bowering is granted particular insight through Ashevak's sculpture, Shaman: "The movement out, the detailed observation ... finesse and originality of perception and execution and above all, the connectedness with 'away'" are the qualities that pull the works together.

Bowering, Marilyn. "She Goes Away (for P.K. Page and in memory of Sarain Stump)." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 107-09.

A tribute poem. The dual dedication is explained in the preceding short essay.

Brewster, Elizabeth. "Naming (A Gloss)." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 66-67.

A glosa based on Page's "Cook's Mountains."

Irwin, Christine. "My Grandmother's Luggage." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 55-57.

A memoir of "GramPat" as "a traveler." Irwin remembers speculating about what was contained in "their enormous suitcases." She writes of becoming closer to Page when she herself begins to travel. Her discovery of Page's writing and literary and philosophical influences in turn causes Irwin's "luggage [to grow] accordingly."

Johnston, George. "(Letter from George Johnston to P.K. Page)." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 99.

In poem/letter to Page, Johnston praises Page's role in emerging Canadian poetry, and remembers live poetry readings, her poetic form, and her work as a visual artist, deeming her "one of our great ladies."

MacPherson, Jay. "Memories of Ottawa." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 88-91.

MacPherson reflects on her relationship with Page, as well as Page's friendship with her mother, Dorothy MacPherson, and their subsequent falling out. MacPherson recalls her images of Page as a child, her encouragement, and conversations "about books and writing and the literary life in Canada." In what is named a "murkier period," MacPherson recalls the cessation of friendship between Dorothy and Page, citing reasons of stress, jealousy over parenting, and Page's marriage to Irwin.

Ondaatje, Michael. "The Great Tree." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 152-53.

A tribute poem to Page.

Purdy, Al. "- Great Flowers Bar the Roads (for P.K. Page)." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 102-03.

A tribute poem to Page.

Rooke, Constance. "Consoeur." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 145-50. Rooke reflects on reflection on how she came to know Page before Page knew her. In calling herself Page's "consoeur," Rooke speaks of "the reciprocity that exists between female friends." She uses her actual friendship with Page as an entry point into an essay about "female friendship" although she notes that the article is not "about [her] friendship with P.K. in particular."

Rooke, Leon. "Legend of the Flaming Moths: A Tribute to RK. Page." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 29-32.

A short story in which five-year-old "Patricia Kathleen" imagines herself carried away to a village in South America called El Flores, "aswarm with millions of white moths." Her imaginative journey to this village, while standing in her actual home in Red Deer, serves to show Patricia "what a glory it [is] to be alive in such a dazzling, incomparably beautiful, utterly fantastic world."

Shreve, Sandy. "Bird Watcher at Dorchester Cape." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 62-63.

A glosa based on Page's "Poor Bird."

Winkler, Donald. "Optical Allusions." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 92-93.

In a recollection of filming Page, Winkler discusses the many examples of "ocular imagery" in Page's work. he describes Page's own "[bewitching] eyes" and how Page was initially attracted to Arthur Irwin by his eyes.

Zwicky, Jan and Don McKay. "Three 'Relays' for RK." Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 58-61.

In tribute to Page, Zwicky and McKay describe a "poetic exercise [they] call 'relays/ which involves linking passages between excerpts from other poets." Using combinations of Page's "The Sleeper" and Neruda's "Too Many Names"; Page's "I-Sphinx" and Rilke's "First Duino Elegy" (Stephen Mitchell, trans.); and Page's "Images of Angels" and Stevens, "Sunday Morning," Zwicky and McKay show some of the "true fibres of connections" between Page and poets who are important to Page herself.

Crawley, Lois. "RK. 1946." P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 129-30.

A recollection of Page's appearance at a gathering in 1946.

Matthews, Carol. "RK. Page: An Offering." P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 153-59.

A reflection on her relationship with Page and the influence Page's poetry has had on her. Page offers to her renders "vision, substance, transformation."

Rhenisch, Harold. "Up Against the Wall: Or, Learning to Live Without a Map." P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 56-59.

A reflection on a creative writing class taught by Page in 1978. Page "showed [him] what his place [was]."

Rogers, Linda. "Gypsy Queen." RK. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 160-62.

A tribute poem.

Young, Patricia. "RK. In the Classroom." RK. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 32-36.

A reflection on a creative writing class taught by Page in 1978. Page became her "most important role model."

Interviews

Page, PK. "'That's Me, Firing Salvador': An Interview with PK. Page." By Eleanor Wachtel. West Coast Review 22.2 (Fall 1987): 42-64.

Wachtel interviews Page in her home in Victoria. The discussion begins with Page's childhood and adolescence. Page discusses the influences and politics of Preview, as well as the rivalry with Sutherland's First Statement. Page speaks about The Sun and the Moon, the meaning behind her pseudonym "Judith Cape," and her lack of embarrassment about the novel, "because I feel that it's a totally different person who wrote it." She talks about the difference between prose and poetry and her abilities at both. There is a discussion of the years in Australia, Brazil and Mexico, with an explanation of how she started drawing. Mexico is characterized as "much darker" than Brazil. Page talks about the difficulties in coming home to Canada and the vast changes she sees in the country. She discusses "Unless the Eye Catch Fire" and the influence of Sufism on the story. Page denies being a "visionary poet." For Page, the "role of the poet in the modern world" has "something to do with redressing the balance between two lobes - male/female, logic/imagination - in a world that is perilously tilted."

Page, PK. "A Conversation with P.K. Page." By John Orange. Canadian Poetry 22 (Spring/Summer 1988): 68-77.

Page discusses The Sun and the Moon in detail, stating that she "[considers herself] a feminist but not a feminist writer." She speaks about the influence of Patrick Anderson and the Preview poets, denying that her writing in this time was either Freudian or Marxist. Orange posits various "labels" that have been attributed to Page - Page herself is most satisfied with "transcendentalist." She discusses her writing process, stating that her writing is "unwilled." Orange and Page discuss in some detail the influence of Sufism on her work. Page denies being a "regional writer" and says that she is unsure of any place that feels her own, conceding that "Brazil felt more mine than any other place I've ever been."

Page, P.K. "P.K. Page: A Biographical Interview." By Sandra Djwa. Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (Winter 1996): 33-54.

This is an interview focussing on biographical matters, including the autobiographical quality of "Cullen" and "Cullen Revisited." Page speaks of her childhood, adolescence, her year abroad in England, and her involvement in Preview. She cites numerous intellectual and literary influences, discusses her poem "Arras," and speaks of the influence of Sufism in her work. The interview is also concerned with determining the meaning behind and connections with Page's "whirling-top imagery." Page speaks briefly on "Unless the Eye Catch Fire" and "Hologram."

Page, P.K. "The White Glass III." By Ann Pollock. Special issue of Malahat Review 117 (1996): 135-44. Rpt. of "The White Glass I & II." IDEAS. May 1996.

This interview is based on excerpts from "The White Glass I & II," originally broadcast on IDEAS in May 1996. Page discusses poetry as an "instrument for self-discovery." She also discusses her poems "Arras" and "Leather Jacket" in terms of a "life force." She talks about Hologram, particularly the poem "Hologram," and states that her relationship to the poets in the book "wasn't so much influence as affinity." She is intrigued by the idea that "you are a mosaic of all things you have encountered that have moved you." She discusses the image of the hologram and introduces a diagram of a compass with the points, Philosophy, Art, Religion and Science. The God in the middle is acting "as the vast hologram."

Page, P.K. "Entranced: A Conversation with P.K. Page." By Eucy Bashford and Jay Ruzesky. P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 110-28.

Page speaks in detail about Hologram and the role of spirituality and Sufism in her work. She discusses the problems of materiality in much of present day creative work. She discusses The Hidden Room, saying that those people who criticize the collection for its nonchronological order are "academicized to death." Page speaks briefly about her work as an actress, and the process of collaboration with Philip Stratford and Mimmo Paladino. She speaks about "tying up loose ends."

Book Reviews

The Glass Air

Hatch, Ronald B. "Poetry." Rev. of The Glass Air: Selected Poems, by RK. Page. Letters in Canada (1985): 29-31.

Classifying Page as one of those poets who "[addresses] ultimate questions," Hatch sees in The Glass Air, an "opportunity to re-examine her exploration of Apocalyptic and Surrealist themes." The chronological order of the selection is praised as "[showing] the consistency of [Page's] vision." Poems such as "The Stenographers," "T-Bar" and "Portrait of Marina" are "some of the best-known Canadian poems." Page's "And We Two" is a "powerful" example of her poetry that deals with transcendence and escaping the ego. Most of her recent work is in line with her earlier work; however, the Sufi-influenced poetry "is probably too esoteric and private to appear wholly convincing to most readers."

Woodcock, George. Rev. of The Glass Air: Selected Poems, by PK. Page. Poetry Canada Review 7.4 (Summer 1986): 51-52.

Woodcock speaks of the difference between "collected" works and "selected" works of poetry, noting that while The Glass Air is a "selected works" Page is "clearly moving towards the definitive." Page's work is separable into two time periods, before and after 1960, each representing different poetic visions. lier new poems during I960 "it quite extraordinary in quality, were few" and thus were interspersed amongst "groups of her earlier poems from out-of-print volumes." The Glass Air, though still incomplete, "is near enough to a collected to give us a wider sweep of Page's poetry than we have been offered before." Looking for "a thread" that "links together the broken halves of Page's career," Woodcock finds a "deeper unity" in seeing Page as "a true metaphysical" in both the "philosophic sense" and the "technical sense."

Griffin, Jonathan. Rev. of The Glass Air: Selected Poems, by PK. Page. Journal of Canadian Poetry 2 (1987): 82-88.

Griffin begins by questioning his authority to "comment on this wonderful book, The Glass Air." he offers details of his correspondence with Page, including a portion of a sonnet he wrote to her, and, quoted in full, the sonnet that she wrote back to him - "Out Here: Flowering." Page is praised for the "pure nature-celebration" in her poetry, as well as the "compassion" that always returns despite moments of "satire" and "condescension." Griffin discusses Page's move to visual art in Brazil, looking at "Questions and Images." Evidence of the "long silence of her poetry and the siege laid by painting" is evident in "Preparation," "Three Gold Fish," "Dot" and "Another Space." The Glass Air will function as Kathleen Riane's book on William Blake did - "showing her two arts together." The "beauty" of both poems and visual art will "[gain] body because their meanings became clear."

Hutchison, Sandra. "Diamond Panes." Rev. of The Glass Air: Selected Poems, by P.K. Page. Canadian Literature 113/114 (1987): 247-49.

Page is deemed "one of our finest and most accomplished poets" and The Glass Air "one of the most important books of Canadian poetry published in 1985." Hutchison considers the three sections of the work separately, noting how they evidence the development of the poet and the visual artist. Discrepancies in the chronological order of poems suggest that "there is a deeper pattern in the arrangement." Hutchison suggests that "each section seems to enclose a psychic movement of which each poem is an integral part."

Barbour, Douglas. "Three Poets Make Complex Music." Rev. of The Glass Air: Poems Selected and New (1991), by P.K. Page. Toronto Star 27 July 1991: HIS.

The Glass Air is reviewed alongside Birney's Last Makings and Gustafson's Shadows in the Grass as evidence of "three terrific books from the older generation of Canadian poets." The Glass Air "contains some of our finest poetry" despite the "too obviously polemical 'Address at Simon Fraser.'" Page is a "visionary poet, in whose work the world is continually transformed."

Vaisius, Andrew. Rev. of The Glass Air: Poems Selected and New (1991), by P.K. Page. Books in Canada 20.5 (1991): 57.

Page is deemed a "master of rhythm." Her "Address at Simon Fraser" although an "extraordinary step" towards political poetry, is unsuccessful in imparting a vision of "the specific horror of ecological calamity."

Johnston, George. Rev. of The Glass Air: Poems Selected and New (1991), by P.K. Page. Antigonish Review 89 (1992): 53-56.

Johnston is disappointed that a collected works has not been created instead of the "five selected volumes." It is evident that "production costs have clearly been cut back" as is shown by the poorly reproduced images and the poor paper quality. Johnston criticizes "this ... paltry treatment for one of our most valued poets." The second edition, however, with its inclusion of new poems, "undoubtedly supersedes the first." Johnston speaks in detail of "Stories of Snow." Page's imagery is praised, and is assessed not only as metaphysical, but at times "allegorical," as in "The Condemned," "Journey Home," "Now this Cold Man," "T-Bar" and "And We Two." Page gives "direct expression to personal feelings" in the "latter half of the hook." "Address at Simon Vraser" is highly praised and stands as a "confirmation of all we had admired and loved in this poetry."

Messenger, Cynthia. "Selecting RK. Page." Rev. of The Glass Air: Poems Selected and New (1991), by P.K. Page. Canadian Poetry 35 (Fall/Winter 1994): 115-21.

Messenger is critical of Oxford University Press for a number of faults she finds in the 1991 reprinting of The Glass Air, which was "issued so Page could include several 'new' poems." The absence of any introductory remarks explaining the format and selections of the edition is greatly lamented, particularly due to the large number of discrepancies in the placement of poems in what is supposed to be a chronological arrangement. Messenger is "shocked" that errors in the 1985 edition remain uncorrected in the 1991 edition. The visual art included in the collection also suffers at the hands of the editors who neglect the "important relationship between written and visual art." Page's visual art is "absolutely decontextualized" in The Glass Air - and suffers further by the poor quality of the reproductions which "look like photographcopies of photographcopies." Page's "new" poems included in The Glass Air are considered, in particular "Conversation," "Kaleidoscope," "I Sphinx: A Poem for Two Voices" and "Address at Simon Fraser."

Brazilian Journal

Andrew, Ruby. Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Quill and Quire 53.5 (May 1987): 22, 24.

Page's Brazilian Journal is likened to "an artist's sketch-book: a richly jumbled amalgam that delineates Hs subject irom myriad vantage points." The book is praised lor the insights it offers into Page herself. The "painterly" quality to the writing is observed positively, as well as the "hybrid beauty" of the journal. Brief biographical information is provided.

Slopen, Beverly. "Publishing On-Stage ... P.K. Page's Love Song To Brazil." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Quill and Quire 53.5 (May 1987): 14.

Brazilian Journal provides an introduction to "another of [Page's] identities: the accomplished artist." Brazilian Journal is praised for the way in which it allows the reader to come to know Pat Irwin and her development as a visual artist. Despite the fact that it seems almost impossible to make an "account of Brazil in the late 50s" "entertaining and compelling," Page succeeds in doing just this. Brazilian Journal is praised as being both "witty and lyrical."

Adachi, Ken. "Page on Places and Things Pure Pleasure." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Toronto Star 27 june 1987: M4.

Brazilian Journal is for the most part praised. Page is best when writing of "places and things," whereas her descriptions of people "is about as exciting as reading a shopping list." Adachi sees Brazilian Journal as an "odd hybrid - part travel writing, part poet's reaction to sensory impressions, part a wry anecdotal account of the unceasing social duties and obligations of an ambassador's wife." Adachi notes the lack of personal reflection in the work and the lack "of the sad and the inexplicable."

French, William. "Tropical Dreaming." Rev. oi Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. The Globe and Mail 27 June 1987: E17.

French praises Brazilian Journal, calling it "a love story, but not the usual kind." Page's entries show her to be "a woman of wit, perception and sensibility, ... with a mind and heart open to new experience." Along with painting a vivid picture of the Brazilian landscape, Page informs us with a "good picture of what's involved in being an ambassador's wife." Page's reference to various books she was reading at the time "[enliven]" the diary. She explores the transformation of her Brazilian self. The diary leaves us wondering "if Page ever went back to Brazil,"

Rose, Barbara Wade. "Lady of the House." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Books in Canada 16.5 (June/July 1987): 29-30.

Wade contextualizes Page's Brazilian Journal in terms of the gendered nature of the diplomatic mission, drawing on passages that highlight Page's interaction with other diplomats' wives. Brazilian Journal is faulted for the ambiguity of its definition - "it lies ... between journal and journalism." Page's omission of anything personal in the journal is noted, as well as her tendency to leave certain ideas unfinished.

Wilson, Peter. "Poet Page Recalls Her 'Surreal' Days in Brazil." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Vancouver Sun 16 July 1987: F7.

A brief article discussing the launch of Page's Brazilian Journal. Page speaks of how she has not returned to Brazil since she left in 1958 and of how the journal came to be published. She also discusses some of the changes she made to the original manuscript. Page dispels criticism that the journals are not "personal enough," saying that "It's not a personal journal.... It's not really about me, but about the people and the country."

Gunn, Barbara. "Memories of 'Perfect' Days Spent in Brazil." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Vancouver Sun 25 july 1987: D4.

Page's Brazilian Journal can be read on many different levels, from a "social calendar" to "an unremitting weather report" to "anything but postcard news." Page's journal shows how Page "matured [as an artist] during her stay in Brazil." Page is praised for her "micro perspective." The "poetic language" of her text "providejsj us a visual hook to Page's Brazilian sojourn."

Weintraub, William. "Brazil Dreaming: It was a Baroque World, But P.K. Page was Never Happier." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Montreal Gazette 25 July 1987: J7.

Page's passages on the "Brazilian climate" and the "people she met" are when Page is at her best. Weintraub notes the lack of "complaining" in the Brazilian Journal: Page does not speak much of the "inanity of the diplomatic life"; rather she is "more conscientious than most diplomats' wives." Weintraub laments that there are not more detailed entries on the intriguing personages who are only briefly mentioned. The artwork included in the volume "[adds] to the pleasure one derives from her felicitous prose."

Bemrose, John. "The Ambassador's Wife." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Maclean's 10 Aug. 1987:51.

Page's Brazilian Journal is praised for its images from a "lyrical, acutely observant" writer. Passages that describe Page dealing with the employees of the household are the "most memorable." Nevertheless, the book "ultimately fails" due to the lack of personal exploration in the collection. Page's "description," though offering "illuminating detail," is too much for the reader "in the absence of any narrative control or intellectual overview."

Giltrow, Janet. "Foreign Exchange: Taking Brazil at Face Value." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. West Coast Review 22.2 (Fall 1987): 65-76.

Giltrow divides her consideration of Page's Brazilian Journal into three sections. In the first, "Platform Party," Page's social responsibilities as ambassador's wife arc discussed and imaginatively elaborated upon. In the second section, "Scenic Passions," Giltrow speaks of Brazilian Journal in the context of travel writing. Placing Page alongside Susanna Moodie and Fanny Kemble, as "[wives] whose travel plans are dictated by [their] husband's social destiny," Giltrow demonstrates that Page, unlike the other two, does not have a negative experience of this "spousal duty." This results in Page's "[discovery of] a lovable country" while "Moodie and Kemble discover loathsome ones." Giltrow notes the lack of personal exploration in Brazilian Journal, particularly of Page's "poetic silence." She proposes that it can be said of Page's record of people in Brazil that "the closer a figure comes to her personally, the more distantly that figure recedes in the landscape of the text." Page's move to visual art is noted. In the final section, "Reception Rooms," Giltrow discusses how Brazilian Journal conforms to the "most venerable traditions of the [travel book] genre," particularly "because it deals in surfaces." While some readers may lament the lack the of engagement with social causes, Page should be praised for her adoption of the "traveler's classic noninterventionist position."

Gait, George. "The Poet in the Pink Palace." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Saturday Night 102.9 (Sept. 1987): 61-63.

Brazilian Journal is characterized as "an intricate triptych of [Page's] Brazil: on one panel the rich narrative of everyday life, on another the inner world of metaphor and memory, and on the third her sketches and paintings." While the form of the work is indeed that of a diary, it is more appropriately considered a "travelogue" and Page a "travel writer." Page's imagery seems "about to break into the magic-realist prose of South America," which Gait suspects is a result of her deep awareness of what Page calls her "Brazilian self" along with "the extraordinary intensity of her perceptions." Discussion of Brazilian Journal is situated within a brief account of biographical details and Page's work both before and after Brazil.

Messenger, Cynthia. "Page's Brazil." Rev. of Brazilian Journal, by P.K. Page. Canadian Literature 118 (Fall 1988): 161-63.

Messenger disputes other reviewers of Brazilian Journal who have categorized the work as a "diary" and who have been critical that it "does not offer enough of her most private thoughts in the book." Messenger argue instead that Brazilian Journal "transcends the genre" of "travel writing" standing as a "more significant intimacy in the observations of her extraordinary eye." Although Page has stated that she was unable to produce poetry while in Brazil, Messenger notes that certain passages do actually "hold all the promise of poetry." Page's visual art is "a metaphor for the artistry she sees around her." Messenger laments the absence of Page's Klee-like paintings from Brazilian Journal; nevertheless, of the artwork that is included we are able to observe "Page's artistic development as she records it in prose."

A Flask of Sea Water

Gilmore, Anne. Rev. of A Flask of Sea Water, by P.K. Page. Quill and Quire 55.9 (Sept. 1989): 22-23.

The fairy tale is praised for the "poetic lyricism" Page brings to the language of the tale. The book is welcomed into the genre, particularly for "those who regard fairy tales as psychologically nurturing and growth enhancing."

Hussey, Charlotte. "Two Eminent Writers Weave Fantasies for Children." Rev. of A Flask of Sea Water, by P.K. Page. Montreal Gazette 14 Oct. 1989: K12.

Hussey praises Page's ability at producing a traditional fairy talc. A brief summary of the story is provided. Page is praised for "never moraliz[ing]"; rather she speaks to her audience "through her vividly rhythmical language."

Darcy, Janet. "More Tales for Young Readers?: New Books Run Range from Poetry to Fantasy." Rev. of A Flask of Sea Water, by P.K. Page. Calgary Herald 16 Dec. 1989: D8.

Page's A Flask of Sea Water is praised for its embodiment of "traditional fairy tale" qualities. The illustrations by Laszlo Gal are "enchanting."

Messenger, Cynthia. "? Goldon Fniry TnIo from ? Major Poet." Rev. of ? Ficisk of Sea Water, by P.K. Page. Canadian Children's literature 59 (1990): 104.

Messenger states that the "delightful fairy tale" can be enjoyed by both children, and, when "read allegorically," by adults. Messenger has had the book tested in the classroom and although it was too difficult for Grade Three students, it was well liked by Grade Five students. She highlights the "Note from the Author" at the end of the book where Page points out the meaning of the sea, providing an entry point for a more "adult" reading of the book. Messenger laments that Page did not start "writing fairy tales sooner."

The Travelling Musicians

O'Hearn, Sheila. "Picture Books Packed with Humour and Action." Rev. of The Travelling Musicians, by P.K. Page. Canadian Children's Literature 70 (1993): 84-86.

Page's story is "to be lauded for its originality of expression and its ability to engage youngsters so thoroughly." Page's poetic voice is evident in the story. The book is recommended for children between ages three and seven.

Rev. of The Travelling Musicians, by P.K. Page. Publishers Weekly 3 Feb. 1992, 80-81.

Page's story is deemed "more sophisticated" than Hans Wilhelm's interpretation of the same Brothers Grimm tale. Despite the use of some language that may be difficult for younger readers, the text and illustrations are praised for children between ages four and eight.

Hologram

Messenger, Cynthia. "Poet Page Takes a Leaf from the Books of Others." Rev. of Hologram, by P.K. Page. Vancouver Sun 10 Sept. 1994: D19.

The poems of Hologram show a "stronger narrative ... impulse and depend on fewer of the glittering metaphors for which [Page] is known." The poems are subtle, deep and show great poise. Some of the poems, such as "Hologram" and "Bagatelle," are more successful than others whose themes are "too strenuously abstract," but they all "repay study."

Van Herk, Aritha. Rev. of Hologram, by P.K. Page. Journal of Canadian Poetry 11 (1994): 146-48.

Hologram is a "deeply moving collection." The poems demonstrate the "transformative power of Page's poetic voice" and her "spare eloquence." Van Herk singles out "Autumn," "Planet Earth" and "Exile" for special praise and comments on how the drawings by P.K. (Page) Irwin included in the volume make it "visually evocative as well."

Whiteman, Bruce. "Extraordinary Presences." Rev. of Hologram, by P.K. Page. Canadian Forum 74 (Nov. 1994): 57-58.

The form of the glosa leads Page to produce poems in Hologram that are "more conservative than the poems in Evening Dance of the Grey Flies. Whiteman observes that the "language" and metre of each poem mirrors that of its "source." Page's best poems are the ones in which "any sense of exercise is completely left behind, and Page is so engaged in her own poetic urgencies that... she ... feels [the glosa formj as the merest gossamer enclosure to her flight." "Exile" and "The End" are highly praised.

Jurdjevic, Deborah. Rev. of Hologram, by P.K. Page. Canadian Woman Studies 15.4 (Fall 1995): 129-31.

Hologram is a "fascinating book" and "has a compelling physical presence." jurdjevic considers "Hologram" and "Autumn" in detail. Page shows "a kind of toughness of character" as she "responds to a challenge inherent in the landscape ... in the original quatrain."

Nicholls, Sandra. "In Her Honour: The 1994 Pat Lowthcr Memorial Award Nominees." Rev. of Hologram, by P.K. Page. ARC 36 (Spring 1996): 74-77.

Nicholls praises Page's work, particularly the glosas "Love's Pavilion," "Poor Bird" and "Exile." The poems in this collection are analogous with Page's other work in that "although the texture and syntax of these poems is [sic] lush and exotic, the images and ideas are perfect in their simplicity." The form is admired for the way it allows the reader to "enter the process of the poem's construction."

McNeilly, Kevin. "Graceful Clarities." Rev. of Hologram, by P.K. Page. Canadian Literature 157 (1998): 160-63.

While Hologram is "retrospective," it is not a collection of "nostalgic reminiscences." The glosa is "a hybrid written between the lines." Page does not simply mimic the work of those she is writing with, but rather "[participates] in a music's recreation in her own ear." In doing so, Page investigates the "process of response." McNeilly considers closely "In Memoriam," "Exile" and "Planet Earth." Noting that poems from Rilke, Neruda, Seferis and Sappho are all translations, McNeilly suggests that Page "attempts to inhabit the indeterminate space of translation itself."

Still Waters: The Poetry of P.K. Page

Fisher, Susan. "Poets: A Sestet." Rev. of Still Waters: The Poetry of P.K. Page, by Donald Winkler. Canadian Literature 147 (Winter 1995): 152-54.

Still Waters is reviewed alongside the other five videos in this series produced by Donald Winkler. In this, the most recent of the six videos, Winkler, in having only Page herself comment on her work, "seems to be aiming at a greater intimacy and directness." Page in speaking with others seems "warm and gracious" but when speaking about herself is "reticent." Winkler's series will "send us back to the poems themselves."

Hidden Room: Collected Poems

Brown, Allan. "Effects and Arrangements." Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. Event 27.3 (Winter 1998): 111-16.

Brown, beginning with a comment by George Bernard Shaw that "the arrangement of the paintings in a show was as important as the individual works of art," notes the "almost casual arrangement" of Page's collected works, reflecting the "feeling of certainty ... that everything ... does in fact fit together." Brown notes omissions and retitled poems, and points out the 16 new poems included in the collection. Page's "insights" are likened to "Keats' 'negative capability,'" especially evidenced in the poems of Hologram.

Lee, John B. Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. Quill and Quire 64.1 (Jan. 1998): 31.

The collection is deemed "important and essential" and is comparable to the collected works of such poets as Milton Acorn, Irving Layton, Al Purdy and James Reaney. Stan Dragland is praised for his editorial work. There is an overview of Page's versatility and some of her best-known images.

Whiteman, Bruce. "This Heavy Craft." Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. Canadian Forum 76 (Jan./Feb. 1998): 44.

Brief biographical information is provided. Although Page's poetry "remained formally somewhat conservative," it is in the earlier, more "conventional" poems that Page is most successful. Page's attempts at "[adapting] to more contemporary influences ... are not always happy." Whiteman praises especially Page's "Legend" and "Aurum"; however, he is highly critical of "Remembering." he is dissatisfied with the arrangement of the book, preferring a chronological ordering of a poet's collected works. Nevertheless, he praises Porcupine's Quill for providing an opportunity to "bring out 500 pages of poetry."

Sherman, Kenneth. "Alchemist with Dutch Cleanser." Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. Books in Canada 27.1 (l;eb. 1998): 34-36.

Noting that the "mystical and transcendental" quality are fundamental in Page's work, Shermaii slates that in "Stories oi Snow" and her "office" poems Page is more effective than "when she is most obviously a visionary." While Sherman praises the attractiveness of the collection produced by Porcupine's Quill, he is highly critical of the organization of Page's work. It is only through a chronological ordering of a poet's work, as opposed to the thematic organization that this collection has followed, that the reader can "[appreciate! ... the poet's development as artist and personality." Page is admired for her "uncanny awareness of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in masculinity and femininity" in poems such as "Vegetable Island" and "After Rain." Page's oft-cited likeness to Elizabeth Bishop is deemed "superficial": Page is more "radical" with more "daring language," and she develops a more "complicated" style in her attempts to "get at the transcendental realm." Sherman laments that Page has not written more personal poems such as "Voyager," "Marmots," "Water Sc Marble" and "Contagion," but is thankful for the poetry that Page has written, citing some of it as "amongst the best our country can offer."

Spalding, Esta. "Through the Looking Glass." Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. Border Crossings 17.1 (Feb. 1998): 70.

Using "Stefan" as an example, Spalding claims that Page's poetry is "about looking again." Spalding praises Dragland's arrangement of the collection: "unconcerned with the chronology or trajectory of Page's career, [The Hidden Room is] for poetry lovers, not for critics." Dragland's arrangement creates new "corridors and mirrored hallways" between the poems, and in doing so, creates "his own understanding of the links between poems in Page's climate of labyrinth."

Enright, Robert. "A Poet 'Easy in Her Bones.'" Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. The Globe and Mail 16 May 1998: D13.

Page is highly praised. The Hidden Room "marks something like a golden anniversary." Page is compared to a number of poets, including Donne, Rilke, Eliot and Thomas. In order to "find the aesthetic to which she is close" Enright looks to Donne and other seventeenthcentury predecessors with whom Page "shares ... a refusal to separate the head from the heart." Page is deemed a "thinking reader's poet" as well as "a quintessential modernist."

Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. World Literature Today 72.3 (Summer 1998): 623-24.

Page's long career is explained by her ability to "understand change just ahead of the wave." Hologram reflects "the continuing vitality and depth of [Page's] poetic gift." The reviewer echoes Frye's statement that if there were "such a thing as 'pure poetry/ this must be it."

Stiles, Diane. "Larger Than seeing." Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. Canadian Literature 160 (Spring 1999): 175-77.

A brief overview of Page's poetic development is provided, citing a portion of Page's "After Rain" as what could be "Page's poetic manifesto." While the volume is "[attractive]," Stiles is critical of Dragland for not including the publication dates of the poems. The reasons offered by Dragland for the arrangement of the collection are not satisfactory to Stiles, who maintains "he could ... have achieved his purpose of giving 'significant shape to the whole' while still including dates of publication, for those readers who believe a life has its own way of shaping a body of poetry."

Musgrave, Susan. "The Hidden Room: Collected Poems by P.K. Page." Rev. of The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, by P.K. Page. P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colebrook Pcarce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 94-98.

Musgrave praises Page's The Hidden Room. She speaks of Page as producing "pure poetry." Musgrave notes how Page's "Stefan" "changed [her] way of thinking - about thought." While there is a "mischievous quality" to Page's poetry, she also "has the ability to tackle weighty subjects."

A Kind of Fiction

McKie, Ross. Rev. of A Kind of Fiction, by P.K. Page. Quill and Quire 67.3 (Mar. 2001): 50.

"Unless the Eye Catch Fire" is deemed the "best story" in the collection. McKie praises Page's attempt in "trying to illuminate what was seen," which he finds at "the centre of many of the stories." Although the stories may seem to delve too deeply into the "psychoanalytic," Page "opens up the narrative with nothing other than pure poetry."

Fertile, Candace. "RK. Page: Read the Poetry Instead." Rev. of A Kind of Fiction, by RK. Page. The Globe and Mail 30 June 2001: D15.

Despite Fertile's high regard for Page's poetry, she is critical of the stories collected in A Kind of Fiction, noting that of the eight stories in the collection that have been previously published it is "unlikely a no-name author would get these stories into print twice." The collection lacks any sort of "development in style" and the "plot is nearly eliminated" in certain stories. Page is criticized as writing predictable stories. "Unless the Eye Catch Fire" is "worthy of praise" and "As One Remembers a Dream" shows potential. "The Green Bird," "The Sky Tree," "Narada's Lesson" and "The Blind Men and the Elephant" are critiqued for their draft-like quality. The reviewer feels that the value in this collection lies in its "[giving readers] a greater appreciation for her poetry."

Bashford, Lucy. Rev. of A Kind of Fiction, by RK. Page. Malahat Review 135 (Summer 2001): 123-25.

Bashford praises Page's A Kind of Fiction finding in it the same qualities she admires in Page's poetry: "the clarity of her vision [and] her clear, sharp images. She explores with prism eye different aspects of reality, however great or slight the movement." In stories "Victoria" and "As One Remembers a Dream," the mixture of "imagination and memory, dream and reality" are praised and deemed "quintessential RK. Page fashion." Page's "The Neighbour" is "not only quirky but hilarious." The stories "The Blind Men and the Elephant," "The Sky Tree" and "Narada's Lesson" arc praised for their play and manipulation with traditional forms. "Unless the Eye Catch Fire" is seen as a "fitting conclusion" to the collection.

And Once More Saw The Stars

Parsons, Kelly and Barbara Colebrook Pearce. Rev. of And Once More Saw the Stars, by RK. Page and Philip Stratford. Malahat Review 136 (2001): 113-18.

The collaboration between Page and Stratford is unique, particularly in a western context. The inclusion of letters of correspondence between the two, as well as Page's introduction is much appreciated. In the rengas Page and Stratford "move through sadness to [a] final hopeful image." The book left the two reviewers with "a deeper sense of privilege of reading and writing poetry, and of writing in community."

Simpson, Anne. "Poetry as Ping Pong." Rev. of And Once More Saw the Stars, by RK. Page and Philip Stratford. Antigonish Review 128 (Winter 2002): 23-25. <www.antigonishreview.com/bi-128/128-simpson.html>.

The collaborative work between Page and Stratford is highly praised. For the reader the collection is "fascinating" as it allows one to witness the "process of writing poems" and the "challenges as well as the pleasures of making poetry" as the letters between Page and Stratford are included. all four of the poems are celebrated "for their range and spaciousness, sharp wit, intelligence and poignancy." The enthusiasm both felt for the project is evident in the book, and the book is likened to "finding small and perfect dollars on the beach: an abundance of good fortune."

Alphabetical

Parsons, Mamie. "Alphabetical." P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works. Eds. Linda Rogers and Barbara Colcbrook Pearce. Toronto: Guernica, 2001. 149-52.

Parsons praises Page's Alphabetical. Page makes use of "several orders of progression" in the collection that is seen as both circular and linear. This collection "enacts one woman's passion for the lived world."

Internet Resources

"Page, Patricia Kathleen 'P.K.'" Harbour Publishing. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.knowbc.com/iebc/book/P/page.ASP>.

Brief biographical information and photograph are included.

"P.K. (Patricia Kathleen) Page." Ecospheric Ethics. Ed. Ted Mosquin. july 2002. Web site designer: RaysWeb. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.ecospherics.net/pages/aboutauthors.html>.

Brief bio-bibliographical information. Page is included in the Ecospheric Ethics web site - a web site "[providing] an introduction to ecocentrism."

Page, P.K. "Page's 'Planet Earth.'" Ecospheric Ethics. Ed. Ted Mosquin. Web site designer: RaysWeb. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.ecospherics.net/pages/PagePlanetEarth.ritml>.

Text of "Planet Earth" along with an introduction stating that the poem is part of a UN program. The poem expresses "[Page's] feelings and pain for what humanity is doing to the Earth."

Page, P.K. "'The Blind Men and the Elephant': (A Play in Two Scenes)." Ecospheric Ethics. Ed. Ted Mosquin. Web site designer: RaysWeb. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.ecospherics.net/pages/PageBHndM&Elepli.html>.

Text of "The Blind Men and the Elephant" along with a brief introduction explaining the origins of the play as a fable by Rmi. The play "is a many-layered fable about human ignorance." The "Sight-Challenged men" represent those who "[mistake] the part for the whole" in much the same way that "most people are blind to the Earth, perceiving it only in terms of utility ... rather than as a Living Whole."

"P.K. (Patricia Kathleen) Page." Online Guide to Writing in Canada. Eds. James Homer and Iram Khan. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.track0.com/ogwc/authors/pagej>k.html>.

This site contains bibliographical information, including a brief list of critical work on Page and a resource section with links to three other Page sites.

"P.K. Page." 9 Jan. 2003. <www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/faculties/HUM/ENGL/canada/poet/p_page.htrn#top>.

Bio-bibliographical information and a brief list of critical work on Page.

"P.K. Page." A Celebration of Women Writers. Ed. Mary Mark Ockerbloom. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/jienerate/authors-P.html>. List of selected publications, awards and a photograph.

"P.K. Page." University of Toronto: Canadian Poetry. Eds. Ian Lancashire, Sophia Kaszuba and Sian Meikle. University of Toronto and University of Toronto Library. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/page/index.htm>.

A photograph and links to "Biography," "Poems," "Writing Philosophy," "Published Works" and "Other Information."

Page, P.K. "Photographs of a Salt Mine." A Compendium of Poetry. Eds. Ted and Ween. june 2001. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.cs.berkeley.edu/~richie/poetry/html/index.html>.

Text of "Photographs of a Salt Mine."

"P.K. Page." League of Canadian Poets. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.poets.ca./linktext/direct/page.htm>. Page is a "Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets". The site lists awards, selected publications, selected anthologies, books in print, Page's address and a photograph.

Page, P.K. "The Stenographers." Passage through August: A Poetry Anthology. Ed. John Bohrn. 9 Jan. 2003. <http://poetry.august.org/poets/Page.htm>.

Text of "The Stenographers" and a photograph.

DMOZ; Open Directory Project. 29 May 2002. Netscape. 9 Jan. 2003. <http://dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/World_Literature/Canadian/Poetry/Poets/Page,_P.K./>.

Links to various Page sites.

Winchester Galleries. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.winchestergalleriesltd.com/GallArt/Irwin/pagel>.

Reproductions of a selection of (Page) Irwin's visual art as well as links to brief biographical information and exhibition details and to a statement by Page on her work as a visual artist stating that drawing "has been a kind of journey from the material to the immaterial and it has given me great joy."

Neilson, Shane. Rev. of A Kind of Fiction. TDR: The Danforth Review. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.danforthreview.com/reviews/fiction/pkpage.htm>.

This is a brief review of A Kind of Fiction.

"P.K. Page." 20th Annual Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts. Attention. 9 Jan. 2003. <www.writers festival. ca/bios/page.htm>.

Brief biographical information. Page is listed as one of the participants in the Sunshine Coast Festival of Written Arts 2002. (Page was not able to attend.)

Miscellaneous

Hoffman, Jackie. "Artist, Poet Retains Her Wonder at the Unfathomable." SaultStar 14 Mar. 1985: B2.

Discussion of Page's childhood fascination with fairy tales and her belief that children need myth.

Wachtel, Eleanor. "West Side Stories: P.K. Page and the Writers of B.C.'s Coast." Books in Canada (May 1985): 5-10.

Discussion of Jack Hodgins, Audrey Thomas, Phyllis Webb, Dorothy Livesay, P.K. Page, Robin Skelton, Anne Cameron and W.D. Valgardson. Cover photograph of Page.

Peterson, Leslie. "Poet-painter Tries Her Hand at Fairy Tales." Vancouver Sun 13 Feb. 1986: C13.

Discussion of Page's interest in fairy tales and her meeting with Mstislav Rostropovich.

"Documenting the Literary Heritage of the Fifties." The Archivist 14.4 (July-Aug. 1987): 8-9. Refers to P.K. Page papers.

Amos, Robert. "Poet Revels in the Sensuous Pleasure of Drawing." Times-Colonist 21 Nov. 1987: CS.

Discussion of Brazilian Journal illustrated by a painting in gouache from the book.

Twigg, Alan. "B.C. Book Prizes Unpredictable." Quill and Quire 54.7 QuIy 1988): 50, 52.

Page wins the Hubert Evans Nonfiction Prize at the fourth annual BC Book Prizes. Page was not present at the awards as she "did not expect to win."

"P.K. Page." Culturama. Canadian Cultural Programmes L.A.E., Mar. 1989.

Brief discussion of Page's work and comment attributed to Joseph Brodsky that Page was one of the best poets in Canada.

"Page Wins Banff Arts Award." Calgary Herald 30 May 1989: E7.

Page is awarded the $5,000 Banff Centre National Arts Award. Brief biographical information is given.

"Banff Award Goes to Page." The Globe and Mail 31 May 1989: AlO.

Page wins the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts National Award, which "[honours] outstanding and continuing contribution to the arts in Canada." Brief biographical information is given.

Gilier, Doris. "Lateral Thoughts." Toronto Star 14 july 1990: np. Photograph of poet. Page speaks of her interest in Edward de Bono and his models of the human mind.

Abley, Mark. "There's a Delicate Art to Filming Writers at Work." Montreal Gazette 19 Feb. 1991: K1.

Page is the last subject of a series of NFB films produced by Donald Winkler chronicling a generation of Canadian poets, including Earle Birney, ER. Scott, Irving Layton, A! Purdy and Ralph Gustafson. Winkler is praised for his selection of poems, his thoughtful questions, and his use of visual images to "clarify and reinforce the words a writer is saying." Abley is frustrated that the film does not more clearly address what he sees as a "central paradox about P.K. Page ... the contrast between her immensely civilized persona and wild, quicksilver imagination."

Messenger, Cynthia. "Transcendence." Rev. of P.K. Page and Her Works, by John Orange. Canadian Literature 129 (Summer 1991): 201-03.

Messenger notes the importance of Orange's P.K. Page: An Annotated Bibliography as well as his P.K. Page and Her Works, deeming them "indispensable to any future scholarship on P.K. Page." Although Orange provides a "thorough" overview of the "themes, patterns and concerns" in each of Page's books, space limitations lead to less detailed analysis and a "[summary ofj Page's technical development." Orange focusses almost solely on Page's development as a poet, neglecting any substantial consideration of her work as a visual artist. Messenger notes the curious omission of Sullivan's 1978 article "A Size Larger Than seeing: The Poetry of P.K. Page" from the annotated bibliography. Messenger endorses P.K. Page and Her Works as material that she "will continue to rely heavily on ... in [her] own work on Page."

"B.C. Poets and their work." Vancouver Art Gallery Calendar. Sept./Oct. 1991.

Rona Murray and P.K. Page share an interest in the experience of the coast landscape and the ability to write poetry that moves beyond the superficiality of appearances.

"The Late-Blooming of P.K. Page." B.C. Bookworld (Winter 1991): 31.

Discussion of Wisdom from Nonsense Land and the poet's recently published children's stories. Page says that she also wants to write about the environment because "I feel it is the most important thing the world is having to face." The article includes a photograph of Page.

Ross, Val. "Rifling through the Pages." The Globe and Mail 23 Dec. 1991: C1.

Brief biographical information is provided. Page is described, like her poems, as "sensitive, fine-lined, nervy, elusive." Page speaks of the influence of American social scientist Edward de Bono and about The Travelling Musicians. She alludes to a recent conversation with Doris Lessing, noting that they spoke of "how we get locked out of the idea of multiple meanings with our first ABCs." An excerpt from Page's "A Grave Illness" is printed.

O'Neill, Juliet. "Holding up Canada's Third Pillar." Ottawa Citizen 26 Oct. 1997: AlO.

Report of an interview with Robin Higham, Director General of the International Cultural Relations Bureau at the Department of Foreign Affairs, discussing posters made of the work of seven Canadian poets including Page's "Stefan."

"U of T Hands out Honours." The Globe and Mail 5 May 1998: AlO.

Page receives an honourary doctor of laws degree from the University of Toronto alongside "[four] well-known Canadians in the arts field": Donald Sutherland, Monique Mercure, Ivan Reitman and Carol Shields.

Fulford, Robert. "Witness to a Century: Living Proof." The Globe and Mail 23 May 1998: C1+.

Page is mentioned several times during an interview with Arthur Irwin celebrating his 100th birthday. Brief biographical information is given. Page "treats [Irwin] with a mixture of solicitude, good-humoured affection and pride." Page's dedication to Evening Dame of the Grey Flies is quoted in response to Page's query about "how the two of us have lived together with such different attitudes."

Stiles, Diane. "Through this Glass Eye." Rev. of RK. Page: A Special Issue ofMalahat Review, ed. Jay Ruzesky. Canadian Literature 157 (Summer 1998): 172-74.

Stiles admires the variety of genres published, providing a brief overview of the entire journal. The issue "seems to look at [Page's] life and works as if through what she calls 'this magic lens.'"

Stoffman, Judy. "Poet Hopes Her Words Will Lead to 'Something Bigger.'" Toronto Star 14 June 1998: B7.

Basic biographical information. Page is interviewed in her hotel room while at the University of Toronto to receive an honourary degree. She gives a convocation address at the University of Toronto in which "she warned students to take care of the planet." Page states that in her writing she "never had a message" but was "anxious to be a clear channel for something bigger to come through the words."

Raphael, Mitchel. "Not an Oprah Recommendation between Them: Six Canadian Authors Gather to Lament and Praise the State of Literature in this Country, Past and Present." National Post 28 Oct. 1998: B13.

Page participates in a roundtable discussion at the International Festival of Authors, with Timothy Findley, Guillermo Verdecchia, Shyam Selvadurai, Scott Symons and Jane Urquhart. Page is noted as saying that "Canadians often take [freedom to speak on things that are of consequence] for granted." Page also comments on the lack of interviews for poets as opposed to authors, reflects that as one grows older awards become less important, and remembers the Canadian literary establishment in its infancy.

"Poet wins World Gig in the Name of Peace." The Globe and Mail 8 Mar. 2001: R2.

Page's poem "Planet Earth" is selected to be read in celebration of the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. The poem is to be read on "international ground." Specific locations are listed.

Babstock, Ken. "How Poems Work: 'Snowshoes.'" The Globe and Mail 12 May 2001: D18.

An analysis of Page's poem "Snowshoes," highlighting the rhythm of the poem and the movement "between mysticism and metaphysics." Babstock likens the "twin snowshoes to two eyes."

Martin, Sandra. "A Woman of Many Words." The Globe and Mail 15 May 2001: R1+.

Martin briefly interviews Page in Toronto where she is giving a reading from A Kind of Fiction. Page speaks about her ongoing creative work, and how this affects Sandra Djwa's attempts at writing a biography on her. Brief biographical information is provided. She maintains that what fascinates her is the "multiplicity of it all" and that "although [she doesn't] think of [herself]" as such, she states she is a "very creative person."

Sutherland, Fraser. "Conversations from Bard to Verse." Rev. of Where the Words Come From: Canadian Poets in Conversation. Ed. Tim Bowling. The Globe and Mail 18 May 2002: DS.

Page cited as stating that "poetry is a holy thing." Page argues that reviews have been helpful to her.

"Art Show, Conference, Lectures and Movies in Honour of PK. Page." Peterborough Examiner 19 Oct. 2002: Cl.

An overview of Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Page, a conference dedicated to Page's life and works, which was held at Trent University, 24-27 October 2002.

"World Premiere of New Composition at Concert Honouring Page." Peterborough Examiner 24 Oct. 2002: C8.

An announcement of a concert consisting primarily of settings of works by P.K. Page. The concert included the world premiere of Planet Earth, by Jana Skarecky.

Losch, Juanita. "P.K. Page Lovers Flock to the City." Peterborough Examiner 25 Oct. 2002: AlA2.

An overview of Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Page with comments on Page's importance by Professor Gordon Johnston of the Trent University English Department, which is hosting the event.

Scott, Barb. "P.K. Page's Poetic Words Powerfully Put to Music." Peterborough Examiner 26 Oct. 2002: Cl.

A review of the concert that was one of the events of making up Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Page. Planet Earth, by Jana Skarecky, performed by Mary McLoughlin (soprano) and Donald Anderson (piano) "was full of contrasting colours light, dark, blazing - and there was magic and mysticism in the words." "Unless the Eye Catch Fire," performed by Joy Coghill with musical accompaniment by Robert Cram, "was hypnotic, a memorable experience."

Rowland, Catherine. "Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Page." Peterborough Examiner 28 Oct. 2002: C1.

A review of the exhibition of the visual art of P.K. Page/Irwin that was one of the events of making up Extraordinary Presence: The Worlds of P.K. Page: "The exhibit is a fine tribute to a lifetime of the spirit of creativity ... represent[ingj the courage and joy of an artist who is enticed to play with ideas, metaphors and visual transitions."

Audio-Visual Material

Still Waters: The Poetry of P.K. Page. Dir. Donald Winkler. Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1990.

Awards

National Magazine Award for poetry, gold (1985).

Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for The Glass Air: Selected Poems (1986).

Governor General's Award for Brazilian Journal, finalist (1988).

Hubert Evans Prize, British Columbia Book Awards for Brazilian Journal (1988).

Banff Centre of Fine Arts National Award (1989).

National Magazine Award for poetry, silver (1990).

Reader's Choice Award (Prairie Schooner) (1994).

D.Litt, University of Victoria (1985).

L.L.D., University of Calgary (1989).

D.Litt., University of Guelph (1990).

L.L.D., Simon Fraser University (1990).

D.Litt., University of Toronto (1998).

Companion to the Order of Canada (1998).

Photographs

Photograph. Poetry Canada Review 7.4 (Summer 1986): 51.

Photograph. Quill and Quire 53.5 (May 1987): 14.

Photograph. Toronto Star 27 june 1987: M4.

Photograph. Vancouver Sun 16JuIy 1987: F7.

Photograph. Saturday Night 102.9 (Sept. 1987): 61.

Photograph. Montreal Gazette 14 Oct. 1989: K12.

Photograph. The Globe and Mail 23 Dec. 1991: Cl.

Photograph. MalahatReview 117 (Winter 1996): 7, 32, 71, 120, 157.

Photograph. Brick: A Literary Journal 55 (Fall 1996): 25, 28.

Photograph. The Globe and Mail 16 May 1998: D13.

Photograph. The Globe and Mail 23 May 1998: C18.

Photograph. Toronto Star 14 June 1998: B7.

Photograph. National Post 28 Oct. 1998: B13.

Photograph. The Globe and Mail 15 May 2001: R3.

Photograph. The Globe and Mail 30 June 2001: D18.

Photograph. <www.knowbc.com/iebc/book/P/page.ASP>.

Photograph. <www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/_generate/autlwrs-P.html>.

Photograph. <www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/page/index.htm>.

Photograph, <www.poets.ca/iinktext/direct/page.htm>.

Photograph. <www.newtrix.com/poems/pkp-poems.htm>.