OK, right from the jump this one requires a disclaimer: I am not a regular reader of poetry, therefore reviewing it is not my forte. Having said that, I was sufficiently moved by Water Sports, a collection by author Paul Johnston, to give it a go. So… here I go.
Johnston is best known as the author of three fiction series featuring the characters Matt Wells, Alex Mavros, and Quint Dalrymple. I have reviewed books from the Matt Wells (Maps of Hell and The Nameless Dead) and Alex Mavros (The Last Red Death) series, and have also been fortunate to have Paul guest post here on two occasions.
Though both of Paul’s guest posts are well worth reading, it is his first, “On Death – Not Necessarily Terminal, Not Necessarily Red,” that should definitely be read in conjunction with Water Sports. In that post, Paul talks frankly about a serious health scare he had, one which required a nine-hour operation and follow up chemotherapy. That experience is the most obvious fuel which stoked the fire of Water Sports, and the ways Paul has addressed such a life-altering event, and questions of mortality in general, via poetry are quite moving. (more…)
