Inspired by her time working in isolated construction camps in northern Alberta, Lindsay Bird’s BOOM TIME describes the unruly social space of the work camps and the ‘in-between’ state of existence that they create. Her characters have both immediacy and inevitability; their complexities presented with little explication, judgement or endorsement, their stories narrated with compassion and humour. Bird doesn’t shy away from the more troubling aspects of life in camp, touching on subjects like workplace safety, harassment, gendered violence, over-indulgence and infidelity. Deep in the oilpatch, the luxuries of civilization—things like rules and objective facts—sometimes seem in short supply. These poems attempt to chart a place where there “isn’t a decent map to be had”, sketching the blurry boundaries between truth and talk.

- Gaspereau Pres

Where to buy

Online, via Gaspereau Press, here.