Miscellaneous Wreckage truly is a miscellany. There are no recurring themes or dominant sections, the subject matter of the poems is all over the map, exploring the poet’s past lives, places he has lived, his elderly parents, his children, ex-wives, and his dogs. If there is a unifying force it is his recognition of his mortality and the great beyond of death. But, no matter how dark the subject matter may appear, Simison confronts it all head on with humour. As he says, “After all, you may as well laugh at death.
Raging against death is as futile as raging against the wind in Saskatchewan.” Miscellaneous Wreckage is a sit back, read, and enjoy collection, and, yes, you will likely get more than a laugh or two as you turn its pages. “Though several of the poems in Miscellaneous Wreckage were written some years ago, the majority were written since 2009 when I moved from BC to Saskatchewan. Coinciding with the move from BC were the deaths of several lifelong friends and the realization that, perhaps, I wasn’t going to live forever as I had planned. Those events triggered a writing spree that continues today.”- Greg Simison
