NOTES on Song : February 2016

What People Are Saying

On Solace

"The album opens with “Beauty,” which begins with some excellent work on acoustic guitar. It eases in, the guitar taking you on a little journey. And then when the vocals come in, you find yourself on a familiar road: “You’re a little too tired/You know you’re too stoned to drive/So you pull over to the shoulder of a road you’ve known all your life.” The song kicks in and features something of a driving beat and energy, with passion behind the vocal delivery. “Come on and be the beauty/Heal this wounded world.” "

-- Michael Doherty's Music Log

On Fancy Clapping:

"In this collection there are 'bees on the breath,' and a poem runs a red light on a Michigan highway. A reader can do nothing but go with it, ride that energy and exhilaration from the first page to the last. I love the brightness and energy of this poet -- and you will too." Lorna Crozier.

"...handfuls of Dunn's fanciful Northern Ont-ological wit and bewilderness..." Gary Barwin

"...the writing is forceful, smart and surreal...These are deliciously poignant, arresting images. On the other hand, a poem such as "Apparation" succeeds because it doesn't rely on surprising imagery; it's dream meets parable meets ghost story. Deceivingly simple and subtle in language, it resonates long after the experience -- much like a haunting." Bill Neeumire, Vallum Magazine, 10.1

"Despite the rampant insanity here on planet earth, Dunn insists on the joy of discovery and invention; he insists on finding or making some form of light in darkness so that meaning can be had, and had in the specific...

"Along with the poet’s ability to invent and to see how we’re invented by the specifics which surround us, Fancy Clapping also explores eternal questions about war, religion, love, sex, and death. What Dunn wants to say, what he succeeds in saying, is that the noise we make, the “fancy clapping” we perform in our heads and in the world to distract us from our lives, prevents us from seeing the wild beauty of the ordinary." Jim Zukowski, The Rumpus

"What is clear is that Dunn is playful but he isn't playing around. These are serious poems full of punch. Al Purdy would recognize the self taught voice in these poems and approve.

"If his first two books are this good, and they are, number three will be something to see. Mark D. Dunn has announced his presence on the Canadian Literary scene with authority."

Michael Dennis

"In his second book of poetry, Ontario writer and musician Mark D. Dunn takes his readers on a mystical journey, pondering ancient and current questions about mortality, religion, violence, and love [...] exposing the difficult truths that lurk beneath the surface of our day to day lives.

"Fancy Clapping is infused with Dunn's tremendous creative energy, making it a pleasure to read."

Isabelle Johnson, Matrix Magazine, 96.

NOTES on Song

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Tuesday, February 9, 2016