The Pear Tree Pomes
Delicate poems and images show a sturdy pear tree and a fading love in this lost classic.
Written after the end of a relationship, there's a persistent and gentle sadness among The Pear Tree Pomes, coloured by the intimacy of his awareness of a pear tree and its constancy. Coupled with illustrations by influential abstract painter David Bolduc, these delicate poems are part nature study, part ekphrasis, and part eulogy to recently ended romance. Kiyooka was also a painter, sculptor, musician, and teacher who cast a large shadow over Canadian literature and art. These poems are informed by the rhythm and shape of his practices of music and art, weaving across the page.
Nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award, The Pear Tree Pomes won fans in well-known writers and artists across Canada. This reissue includes new archival material, giving readers the opportunity to (re)discover this graceful collaboration of poetry and art and the story behind it.
Roy Kiyooka (1926–1994) was a painter, poet, photographer, and arts teacher. A second generation Japanese Canadian, he was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1926, grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and died in Vancouver, B.C. in 1994. He was one of Canada’s first 'multi-disciplinary' artists, and the subject of several important exhibitions during his lifetime. His visual artwork included paintings, sculpture, film, and photographs. During his career he taught at a number of universities, including the University of British Columbia. Kiyooka was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978.
David Bolduc (1945–2010) is widely regarded as one of the premier practitioners of abstract painting of his generation. He was the recipient of solo exhibitions in Canada nearly every year over the course of his 40 year career. Bolduc’s paintings can be found in major collections across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Art Gallery of Alberta.
