New Anthology Inspired by the Pandemic Introduces a Toronto Poet

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed          Canute Lawrence, educator, thespian and now published poet

 

In 2020, when Canute Lawrence decided to perform some of his newly written poems inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic on Facebook Live, who would have thought that they would be published a year later in his first book,Pathology of a Pandemic, a collection of poems.   

 

In those performances, Lawrence embodied the characters of the various personas in some of his poems, including his deceased grandmother, with costume to boot.

 

Now, Pathology of a Pandemic provides readers a 52-page book to read at their leisure, but also to relive vicariously the thoughts and processes that Lawrence highlights from his experience of this pandemic. His poetry is straightforward and riveting. 

 

Not only does he write about the isolation and physical/social distancing, clinical hand washing and mandatory mask-wearing pandemic requirements but also the psychological journeys, the introspections and reflections that one undergoes in these moments of being with oneself.

 

Having our/his freedom curtailed also meant that he could observe world events and give a critical, creative and clever analysis of the times. One only has to read his poem “Superiority Complex” about what was happening south of Canada’s border in 2020 under the leadership of a now former president of the United States.

 

As a Black man charting his path in the world, Lawrence also uses his voice to challenge anti-Black racism, discrimination and bigotry. Not only dwelling on the personal, he also takes into consideration the collective experience when he declares that “Resistance is my Action” and “I Kneel to Stand Strong” – the titles of two of his poems.

 

Some of the poems are written in Jamaica’s Nation Language or Jamaican Creole – “In Di Blink of an Eye: a post from mi dead granny,” “A Mechiz From Mi Dead Granny,” “Wifey Covets ‘Covids’ Matey Romance,” “Mi Waah Guh Back a Mi Yaawd,” and “Covid Labrish” – so the poet has included a glossary to make sure no one is left out of the conversation/message in these poems.

 

The breadth of his poetry includes the thoughts of a wheelchair user who compares the realities of living to things that COVID-19 have amplified in “Who Will Listen To Me,” a check in and tribute to the “sistahs,” and a dedication to family -- “A Tribute to My Father (Posthumously).”

 

Lawrence, a language and literature teacher for more than three decades, has taught in the public school systems in Jamaica, the United States of America, and Canada where he resides. 

 

He is a lover of the arts and a thespian who has appeared in, and directed several theatre productions in Jamaica, New York City, and Toronto. Lawrence is a full-time teacher with the Toronto District School Board.

 

He loves great cuisine, reading, and traveling. Lawrence will be off from school for a year and plans to travel to different places, including Jamaica, where he will host the international launch of the book and readings. He will also travel to the United States for readings and host a book launch in Toronto later in the year.

 

Pathology of a Pandemic is published by FriesenPress in Victoria, British Columbia and is available on FriesenPress Bookstore, Amazon, Kindle Bookstore, iTunes Bookstore, Applebooks, Google Books, Google Play, in major bookstores like Chapters-Indigo, and Barnes & Noble.

 

Shortly after being published, FrisenPress informed Lawrence that the book was a bestseller. That designation is reserved for a book that sells the most copies of all their publications each week and during their monthly cycle.

 

That news has put a spring in Lawrence’s step and as Dr. Denise Jarrett -- a literature professor at Morgan State University and the friend who encouraged him to publish the anthology – says in the foreword, “Lawrence’s collection of poems is filled with laughter, hope, love, and paradoxically, a sense of loss, anger, and misery. He captures the readers with his pieces that are beautifully written yet emotional and even devastating.”

 

This collection of poems is well worth the read and you’ll laugh out loud while doing so too.