The Corpses of the Future

The Corpses of the Future is a sustained, confessional new collection of poems by Lynn Crosbie. It tells the story of her father’s battle with frontotemporal dementia and blindness, following a stroke. The poems chronologically recount the poet’s conversations and time with her father, and capture his still-astonishing means of communicating. The book’s title is his, sardonic, remark. Crosbie considers, strategically, dementia to be a symbolic language and as such, similar to poetry. The author’s attempts to understand her father’s distress, pain, fear, and brave love are assisted by her understanding of the “negative capability” required of readers of poetry.

This is a harrowing book, with moments of joy and even levity. It is a collection of poetry about love, and love’s persistence, even under the most unspeakable circumstances.

Lynn Crosbie was born in Montreal and is a cultural critic, author, and poet. A Ph.D in English literature with a background in visual studies, she teaches at the University of Toronto and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her books (of poetry and prose) include Pearl, Queen Rat, and Dorothy L'Amour. She is also the author of the controversial book, Paul's Case and most recently, Life Is About Losing Everything and Where Did You Sleep Last Night. She is a contributing editor at Fashion, and a National Magazine Award Winner who has written about sports, style, art, and music.