The Winter Croquet & Cocktail Society
by Gerald Arthur Moore
Atlantika Creativity Group, 2004
ISBN: 0-9686-385-04
Every once in a while, you find a truly fantastic book--or rather, it finds you. Such was the case a few weeks ago when an autographed copy of Gerald Arthur Moore's first poetry book, The Winter Croquet & Cocktail Society, appeared without notice in my mailbox.
I met Art--as he most definitely prefers to be called--10 years ago in an Advanced Fiction Writing course at university. Even then his unique voice broke through in everything he wrote. Our teacher didn't always appreciate his style, but he proved a hit with the other writers in the class.
The poems in this collection prove he hasn't lost his touch. “Padre Tanswell” (below) is indicative of Moore’s wry wit--not to mention his pursuit of women at any cost--but he also demonstrates his serious side in “I Walk Past Violence” and “The Burial of Helen Moore” (to name but two examples).
Like Fox Mulder on The X-Files, Art has the advantage of "easy good looks" and an Oxford education. Then again, he'd be the last to agree that he's the least bit handsome or to take himself--or life--too seriously. He'd rather expose the delicate underbelly--sometimes to attack, but often just to tickle.
This collection is much like the writer himself: complex, unpredictable, intriguing, challenging--and worth exploring.
Padre Tanswell
by Gerald Arthur Moore
Once threatened me, that is, reminded me
That he owned a shotgun
When he found out
That his daughter Wendy and I
Were going to the Ladies Dining In
I told the good Padre,
That my intentions were true,
And that night
I sharpened my sword.
This review was originally published in InkSpotter News 3.09 (September 2005).
NOTE: Moore is a native of Ancaster, Ontario, currently living in Moncton, New Brunswick. His academic background includes Saint Mary’s University (Halifax), University of King’s College (Halifax), Atlantic Baptist University (Moncton), and Oxford University (England).
To order copies of this book, contact the author
