Canadian poet Lorna Goodison shares the books that inspired her life and work
CBC Books | | Posted: April 16, 2020 2:59 PM | Last Updated: April 6, 2023
Lorna Goodison is one of Canada's most renowned writers. She's currently Jamaica's poet laureate.
Over the past 40 years, Goodison has written 14 books of poetry, including Collected Poems, and an award-winning memoir From Harvey River, which won the 2008 B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction and was a finalist for both the Trillium Book Award and the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction.
In honour of National Poetry Month, Goodison shared six books that left a lasting impact on her with CBC Books.
The Saggy Baggy Elephant by Gustaf Tenggren
"It was a Little Golden Book. It was given to me as a Christmas present. I remember being amazed that I owned that book. I probably thought it was made of real gold. I loved the illustrations, but remember being sad that the parrot was so unkind to the little elephant whose name was Sooki. That mean parrot basically body shamed that innocent little elephant. I might have wondered why he did not seem to have a mother or father or brothers and sisters. I was mightily relieved when Sooki — after being traumatized by a lion — found or was found by a welcoming herd of elephants and that he did a little dance at the end."
The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer
"I heard her read from the galleys at a Commonwealth Writers conference in Manchester in 2000 and I have never witnessed a more professional presentation by any writer. This love story between a privileged white South African woman and a Muslim illegal immigrant is set in South Africa and a nameless Arab country; and deals with immigration issues and the economic, class and religious differences between two people from completely different backgrounds. The Pickup is perhaps even more relevant today than it was in 2001 when it was first published."
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
"I stayed up all night reading Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (there is also a Hagar in this book). Pilate is a powerful character. I sometimes think about what she said as she lay dying, that she wished she had known more people — for then she would have loved more people."
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
"I was fortunate to grow up in a house with my sister Barbara who was a journalist and who read very widely. From an early age I took to reading the books she brought home and sometimes she'd warn me not to read a particular one. 'You are not old enough to read that,' she'd say. She was right. I remember trying to read Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin when I was way too young; some of the scenes were so powerful, so vivid, they kept me awake at night."
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
"It took me a long time to come around to reading The Divine Comedy, but I was asked to participate in a project celebrating Dante's master work at the Southbank Centre in London in 2000. I chose to rewrite Canto XII of the Inferno, setting it in Jamaica, and since then I have done several others. I have just completed a rewrite of a canto in the Purgatorio for a collection due to be published later this year. I hope to be around to complete at least one canto from Paradiso."
Renascence and Other Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay
"My father died when I was 15 years old, and that is when I discovered the balm and solace that poetry can provide. For most of the year after he died, all I did was read poetry, especially the poetry of the metaphysical poets like John Donne and George Herbert, but I also found real comfort in Renascence and Other Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay, especially the title poem."