A Canadian poet, I discovered this spiritual looking chapbook of poetry at the Goodwill in Bedford, Michigan. The question is who is Robert Burt and why is he so obsessed with seagulls?
I’m not sure if I actually enjoy Burt’s more pastiche style, but it is refreshing to read a contemporary poet who likes to use some semblance of musicality in his poetry. Some of them even have stanzas! It really is the small things that please me. He even has similes! A contemporary poet that also reads other people’s poetry?
I do enjoy this poet’s eye for details and small observations. Like a more sophisticated Jack London, if London had actually written verse, there is something awe inspiring in Burt’s reflections on the Canadian wilderness. I would not say he is so much profound as he is poignant.
Burt also seems to be a less metaphysical poet and more of an Ansel Adams style photographer of the beauty and wonder of nature. He might have been an interesting guy, but regretfully he passed away in 2022.
As you can see, Burt, while not the most talented Bard on the Northside of the North American Continent, does pay respect to the history of what truly is a beautiful language when employed with thought and a sense of lyricism. He does not imitate Bukowski and other enjambment heavy poets such as Sharon Olds, nor rely on prose to convey what can be said succinctly with actual lines that make sense!
It’s just too bad there is no wikipedia page for this poet. Nor information of how his second chapbook ended up at the local thrift store in Michigan.
I would honestly call his style of verse ‘yacht’ poetry, after the yacht rock vibes of bands like Toto and Vampire Weekend. His words are calming, playful, humorous. He enjoys the field and does not offer pretense in the way of bland run-on sentences as SO MANY OTHER contemporary poets do. You won’t find his works reviewed on Goodreads nor Amazon, but this poet did exist. That is something to cherish.
The Verse Universe 