Roberts launches debut solo collection
Posted by Violet Nesdoly on May 15, 2013
Lovers of poetry gathered in the Clearbrook Library Monday, May 13th to read and listen to poetry. As usual the open mic offering was varied with poems on diverse topics: the cycles of life and nature to words and numbers and their mysterious hold on us (“I can do the math!” insists Alvin), and more.
Some of the open mic readers, Blue Moon reading May 13, 2013
After coffee Nicholas Roberts launched his first solo poetry collection, the space between the eyes. After his friend read an opening poem, Roberts told us a bit about his writing and publishing journey, and read from his handsome book.
Nicholas Roberts reads from the space between the eyes – 1
The audience enjoyed poems that ranged in subject from the list of things one will find on his bed, to the poem that was the inspiration for the title of a previous collaborative publication —A Trail of Light:
I think she walked in meadows green,
and traced her path—a trail of light:
through fairy glasses she has seen
green winged dragons’ flight” – a space between the eyes, p. 42.
There was also humor. I was especially amused at “Conversation with an insect.” (He may not have read this on Monday night but I found it on my own later.) Who of us hasn’t watched an insect and wished we knew what he or she was trying to say?
“…And then, in another language,
he said something to me
in a whispered garble,
gestured with his forelegs, rubbing together
like hands in anticipation,
like fighting for warmth,
like a deviant genius…” -p. 71
No matter what his subject, Roberts manages to give it an unexpected twist that leaves us mulling over what we’ve just heard. He does that so well in “Paragon,” a poem about one of his pastimes, online gaming, which ends:
“…For all their intangibility
the feelings were real, as were the alliances I forged:
we who heeded the call to make a difference—
there were heroes inside all of us.” – p. 114.
The evening wound down with the audience asking for just one more and, after the reading, Roberts signed books.
Congratulations, Nicholas Roberts and your publishing team on a job well done!
Nicholas Roberts launches the space between the eyes – 2
(To purchase your own copy of the space between the eyes, please contact the author via his website or twitter.)
Now it’s time to mark your calendars for June 10th, our June Blue Moon Reading when PPS member Emily Isaacson will be the featured reader as she launches and reads from a new book.
Date – June 10, 2013
6:30 − 8:30
Clearbrook Library Meeting Room
32320 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford, B.C.
Come prepared to read a poem or two during the open mic portion of the evening (6:30). Featured reading begins around 7:15.
Fraser Valley Poets Society 
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