Canada, (b. 1950)
Year of the Pig
- Fat buttocks rubbing against the cedar fence, yellow gruel drips from their mouths. They grunt, bite each other with ugly teeth. Mud – the stink of them everywhere.
- I am a child, my father telling me of an old farmer who fell in the slop of his boar’s pen. The next day only his leather boots were found, feet inside. “Pigs are like people. They’ll eat anything.”
- I look sideways to see him serious; then back to the animals chewing on each other. That night I dreamt of two giant pigs with human faces at the earth’s center, glistening machines made of sweat and meat, grunting their way to the light.
About the Poet:
Brian Brett (b. 1950) is a Canadian poet, novelist, journalist and critic.
Brett studied literature at Simon Fraser University from 1969 to 1974. In the early 1970s, Brett began working as a freelance journalist and critic for various publications and newspapers, including The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver’s The Province where he was the poetry critic for two years, and had his own column.
His journalism has appeared in almost every major newspaper in Canada, and his essays in most of the major magazines. Brett has is also the former chair of the Writers’ Union of Canada and has been involved in an editorial capacity with several publishing firms such as the Governor-General’s Award winning Blackfish Press. He currently lives on his farm on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. [DES-07/13]
Additional information:
- Brian Brett’ web site
- Brian Brett’s entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Brian Brett fonds – University of Victoria Libraries