Why Lorna Crozier wants us to remember that we are all connected
Lorna Crozier is one of Canada's most beloved poets. An officer of the Order of Canada, she's been acknowledged for her contributions to the nation's literature and for her teaching. Her latest collection, What the Soul Doesn't Want, explores the natural world and the passage of time. The book is a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for poetry.
Going beyond clever connections
"One of the things that I've always loved in my writing life is looking at the way so many things resemble something else. Baudelaire called that the universal analogy and I think it's more than trying to find a clever connection. It is ultimately stating that we are all connected; that there is an underlying, sometimes invisible, thread that draws us together. And if we kept remembering that, we would be kinder to one another and kinder to the world."
Exploring life as a poet
"I'm getting older. I'm very aware that life is getting shorter. Many of my friends are dropping dead. My husband is nine years older than me, so I'm grateful for every day and every year we have together. There is less ahead of us than there used to be. I'm thinking how to make each day as luminous as possible through the way I write about it and through what I observe and see."
Lorna Crozier's comments have been edited and condensed.