“MacLean’s poems capture moments of joy and pain equally well. Nix describes hiking the barrens with Twig, “At the crest, where the brook/meets the edge/and falls,/I straighten, panting,/ and turn around./Breath catches in my throat. The sun’s sinking over Labrador,/the gulf waxed gold.” And, later Nix is in the workshop ” thinking how I’ve dovetailed/guilt to grief–”.
In the end, it is Twig’s faithfulness and Blue’s persistence that help Nix move beyond putting one foot in front of the other to see that light can “shiver on water.” I’d highly recommend Nix Minus One. Chalk up another win for Pajama Press!”
—Sheryl McFarlane
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