About Jim Bennett

Jim Bennett has a website at jim-bennett.ca with a welcome page, a blog (writing, writers, and politics) and pages promoting his work. There are a few references for other human beings, and a plug for the charity at which he volunteered for some 14 years.

Jim writes mostly poetry, with previous publishing successes. There are several collections of poetry available on Amazon/Kindle. Selection was taken from poems that were work-shopped and worked on and had validated by "his" group of professional writers. See the website's Available Now page for more.

The first Amazon / Kindle book is about death and aging, weakness and coping, hope and despair, and the real human excellence which allows us to rise above our difficulties and love each other, and sometimes even like ourselves. The title poem is Cold Comes Through; there are several poems about Jim's father, whose early death still haunts.

The second Amazon / Kindle book is about relationships. Some non-starters, some OK, some in trouble, some destructing. The title poem is Behind the Lime Kilns, a drama made up out of various experiences.

The third Amazon / Kindle book is called Hard Landing, and is about difficult situations and the individuals in them. There are also ten salacious limericks and some other just-for-fun pieces to lighten up a bit. You may see yourself, your friend, your enemy in the difficult personal experiences captured in these poems. This one book is not for children nor squeamish adults.

The fourth Amazon / Kindle book is titled The Scroll of the Violin. It is about religion and irreligion, belief and disbelief, trial and error, success, relationships, and joy. What it means to be alive and mortal is explored here.

The fifth Amazon / Kindle book is titled Retirement Clock. Some of the poems are a form of time travel: Grand Prix races at Watkins Glen, 9-11 and other disasters (some Canadian), aging and coping, and the cynicism of business success and retirement layoffs. Plus a few poems questioning existence in different ways. What does it mean to come back? from a trip? from an assignment? from a job? These poems will share such experiences with you.

The sixth Amazon / Kindle book is titled Fortress. It is about relationships and alienation, affairs and almost-affairs, with a number of short pieces for the impatient, giving you a chuckle or a surprise. There are longer pieces for the patient, including a damaged rondeau, a mirror, and some free verse. While not risque, there are adult situations here. This is a slice of life, actually several slices, captured in words.

Jim's personal interests include biology and religion. He started out with Shroedinger's title question, What is Life, and delved into biochemistry, biology, microscopy. Quantum effects became important so he sort-of understands that (badly). Social effects made themselves noticed, thus a study of Joseph Campbell and Bruce Feiler, on myths and religion. Jim has read the Koran in two different (English) translations, cover to cover. He does not claim to understand it, but to have a fair idea of what it says.

His own religious background is Christian, now highly diluted. Yet he volunteered at a Catholic charity, and loaded boxes and things onto shipping containers, two mornings a week. He did this for years. He retired early, and can spare that much time for a good cause.

Jim has subscriptions to Scientific American and Nature (UK science/research magazine). His head does hurt sometimes when reading the last. He follows photography at DPreview and other websites.

Jim keeps tropical fish and is a photographer of some ability; two weddings (swore never again after the first one, it's work!) but prefers arty outdoor scenes. And travel photos. And anything his wife tells him to shoot: sometimes he executes better than she, but just don't see the opportunities she does.

Jim has degrees from University of Toronto. He worked in data processing for IBM and a large Canadian bank. He was once addressed as Mister Systems Architect by an IBM honcho of Finance Industry Marketing. He was good at what he did. It was interesting and challenging.

One thing Jim learned from development projects is, the product belongs to the client and perhaps the company, but the results of the teamwork, including know-how and mutual respect, belong to the team.

Thus his interest in poetry. He's been in the team on Earth for awhile and have come to many observations. Now he's finding ways, in this new and open digital world, of sharing those with others.

He wants each one of you to have a chance to profit from, recognize yourself in, or laugh or cry, with or at, some of these poems. They were written for us, that is, for you.

Note: Jim Bennett has previously published poems in Event, The Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly, and Prairie Fire. Another poem was published by Quest Booksellers Review in conjunction with a review Jim was asked to write for Margaret Atwood's poetry collection, Morning in the Burned House. Another poem was included in Cathy Miyata's book, Speaking Rules! which teaches how to teach young children public speaking. The collection Cold Comes Through contains fifty entirely new poems, as does the collection Behind the Lime Kilns, at 56 new poems, Hard Landing, at 57, the Scroll of the Violin at 69 shorter poems, Retirement Clock at 54 longer ones, and Fortress with 71. Every book contains entirely new, first-published, poems.