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Questions and Answers
What inspired “Open House”?
I was at an early stage in the post-divorce process, trying to maintain a quality relationship with my two young sons in the midst of terrible emotional turmoil. One afternoon I attended an open house at the school of my eldest boy and watched him and his brother, in their remarkable way, remind me and my ex-wife that they were what mattered.
What poetic techniques did you use in “Open House”?
It is a free verse poem absolutely held together by the ironic connections between adult and childhood perceptions of the world. The performance metaphors are meant to represent the dark theatricality of the situation and rehearsals for escape from its weight.
This poem “Open House” originally appeared in The Languages of Poetry. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 129 (Summer 1991): 7-7.
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