Timothy Shay, Poet

Timothy Shay, poet extraordinaire, read from his vast work of genius, humor and delight at the Summer Dream Writer's Festival at Trout Lake. I don't remember the names of any of the poems he recited. I just thought, this man could share a stage with Leonard Cohen, Layton, and Irving. I felt gifted to be Canadian. Oh yes, I remember now, he shouted a poem he said went over well when he shaved his legs on stage and recited poetry in drunken bars. Eat Meat!!!! But it was his touching poems that caught me, what he said was truer to his introspective nature. He has daughters and the women in his life had massaged his muse. His turn of phrase and erudition was T. S. Elliott. Layers upon layers of meaning and metaphor in couplets and rhyme. I felt privileged to have heard him at this festival. I'd come only because Robert Mackay was to be reading from "Soldiers of the Horse" and Margaret Hume was reading from her recent book written with her father, Albert MacLean, "My Life".
I didn't even know who Timothy Shay was, which bodes ill for me because he really is among the finest of Canadian poets, maybe not as sensuous as my poet friend Bernice Lever but definitely raw and naked. A man's poet too. I liked that about him. Maudlin at moments but strong and solid as a Tom Thomson Jack Pine.
When I googled him I found that he was published in many of Canada's finest literary magazines, Fiddlehead, Grain, West Coast Review and the CBC Anthology. His own book is called "This Cabin As The SS Titanic" . He has others as I came across "Unflux" too. He was recently Editor of Horsefly Literary Magazine and hosts monthly open mikes for poetry reading. When leaving the stage he did invite us to come out to Hogan's Alley Cafe at 789 Gore Ave, Chinatown Vancouver where he hosts an open mike with featured monthly poets as well.




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