Armour & Lace

This poetry collection deals with desire, its myths and ever-evolving realities. The free-form poems trace the arc of a journey on which there are joys and sorrows, a sense of delight, and the re-configuring of lives lived. Beyond bewilderment and mystification, the poems also converse with grief and wonder. In the words of Clement Rosset, "reality must be negotiated in terms of joyous cruelty." Yet Bruno Schulz states that, "All poetry is mythologizing and strives to reconstitute myths about the world." In Armour & Lace, the mythologizing of the world is not over yet. Faced with the bewildering and mysterious aspects of living in a confusing world, the poems long to connect with reality and the ineffable. They express the inconsolable yearning for the world both visible and invisible. In ceaseless mental fights, and in states of anguish, we take the road of sensuality, love and beauty. Reality leads us to an apprehension of a love greater than the one we once imagined. The German word Sehnsucht captures "the inconsolable longing in the human heart for we know not what." These poems yearn for the perfect arrow that will hit the target of understanding. They seek the mysteries of self-surrendering love, and reveal the fragmentation of visions of love. Though we are wounded in battle, we continue in our quests to know ourselves through experiences in the real world. These poems aim at such targets in the belief that our quests are real and true. Anthony Labriola's work has appeared in The Canadian Forum, PRISM international, Vallum: Contemporary Poetry, Stone Voices, Still Point Arts Quarterly, Passion: Poetry, and The Colours of Saying. His poetry collections include The Rigged Universe (Shanti Arts Publishing), Sun Dogs (Battered Suitcase Press), Invisible Mending (Anaphora Literary Press), and The Blessing of the Bikes & Other Life Cycles (Anaphora Literary Press). His published prose works include Devouring the Artist (Anaphora Literary Press), The Pros & Cons of Dragon-Slaying (Anaphora Literary Press) and Poor Love & Other Stories (Anaphora Literary Press). The Japanese Waltzing Mouse & Other Tales (Cranberry Tree Press) appeared in August 2016. He lives in Toronto with his family. He studied at the University of Toronto and received a B. A. in English and French, a B. Ed. in English and Dramatic Arts, and an M. A. from the Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama. He taught English, Drama and Performing Arts for 32 years. Then went on to teach Life Writing at Seneca College in Toronto, Ontario.