"Deserts of the heart" : the poetry of John Newlove

Cook, Samuel James (1990) "Deserts of the heart" : the poetry of John Newlove. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

John Newlove, whose main recognition as a poet came with the publication of Lies (1972), is often considered as the Prairies' first poet. This thesis explores four major themes of Newlove's poetry: man alone, the failed lover, the searcher, and the poet. -- The first chapter depicts individuals who are essentially alone. They are isolated from other individuals and from their essential selves. Their isolation appears to stem from society's indifference to their plight and from their own insecurities and inadequacies. -- The second chapter explores those poems in which the personae fail to find communication, communion and commitment in their love-relationships. The desire to find love is especially intense, yet the personae are unable to effect a mutually lasting relationship. -- In the third chapter, a search motif is presented. Here, the personae look especially to the land and its people - as they are portrayed in history and legend - to satisfy their desire to find fulfilment, to accept fears of death, and to find their respective identities. -- The fourth and final chapter concentrates on the poetic process and the poetic vision. With respect to the former, the poems deal with Newlove's suspicion of language, his direct and unadorned speech that defies traditional poetic techniques, and the difficulty of composing. The latter part of the chapter focuses on the poet's desire for perfection, the need to present the truth, and the poet's task - to warn and to affirm.

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