Jim Bennett

OK
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.
Are you an author?
Author Updates
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Blog postI am a citizen of Toronto, Ontario, and Canada. I am afraid that that statement may become irrelevant, even laughable.
Justin Trudeau, our Prime Minister, just gave himself extraordiary powers to tax and spend while only conferring with his cabinet. Cabinet members are appointed by the PM and thus depend on his goodwill to remain in their posts. Parliament was not involved.
In short, Justin Trudeau has given himself powers that should be illegal in a democracy with an elected2 years ago Read more -
Blog postDefinition of Stable Genius? any better suggestions, post here and I’ll approve every good one. Now for my clumsy first cut.
An Einstein-like mind mucking out a racing stable. Someone good at preventing change. A member of a ‘stable’ of geniuses. A person whose entire life, including every speech, is full of oxymorons. Have a nice day.
3 years ago Read more -
Blog postThis is a cut&paste of a review which should appear soon on Amazon Kindle.
The Dog And Its Dead Owner Tanya G. Guleria
Fables re-written into stanza rhyme, 21 of them.
three stars
This is an unusual work and is aimed at an unusual audience. If you are in that audience, your appreciation may be greater than mine. So as always, do not let my star count override your judgement of content. More on the stars, counting, and my rating challenges3 years ago Read more -
Blog postAll of this is my opinion. Without prejudice.
There have been two recent and fatal air crashes of a specific model of plane.
Here is what I think is the problem.
The plane was made more efficient (no problem) and similar in cockpit controls to its predecessor (almost no problem.)
So a crew used to the older plane could fly the new one.
Except for one small difference.
When the plane thinks its airspeed is too slow, it dives to avoid a stall.3 years ago Read more -
Blog postLondon, Montreal, Barcelona. What do they have in common?
London England is in the midst of Brexit. Over 200 financial companies have moved over 900 Billion pounds of investment out of the country. And, deals that can be done through EU subsidiaries will probably go there.
Barcelona. In the middle of a region of some autonomy and trying to separate, the Spanish government made it easier for companies to move their headquarters out of the city. Four did so on the first day, and3 years ago Read more -
Blog postPhosphates in detergent. Years ago, no detergent ad would fail to mention, contains phosphates. Now they are never included as they induce pollution and eutrophication of waterways.
Salt intake limits. Not that long ago, one thousand milligrams (a gram) was considered dangerous. Now it’s OK to have 3000 milligrams – three full grams.
Speed. At one point, forty miles per hour was thought to be fatal, if a train could achieve that.
Pet food that contains no plant matter.3 years ago Read more -
Blog postDo you remember this YouTube Video? Have a look.
Well, the story continues. Here’s a BBC News item to follow-up on.Pope Francis is finally making a difference.
I have some worse news.
Cardinal Pell went through two potential trials. The result of the first trial was kept secret so as not to influence the second trial. The first trial was for offences a long time ago. The second trial was for covering up abuse in Australia, particularly Ballarat.
The trials were3 years ago Read more -
Blog postThis is a cut & paste of a review that will appear on Amazon and GoodReads.
Bleed Like Me Azzurra Nox
Serious personal situations, not for children.
four stars
As always, do not let my star count override your judgement of content. More on the stars, counting, and my rating challenges later.
Star counts are the hardest parts of a review. Here we have 178 poems. I like quite a few of them. Are you patient enough to read through your3 years ago Read more -
Blog postSNC Lavalin wanted a DPA – Deferred Prosecution Agreement. Our Prime Minister put ‘no pressure’ on our Attorney General to permit this.’Make your own decision.’
Until he demoted her from being Attorney General. She was an early indigenous example of a cabinet post. She later resigned from her lower cabinet post, apparently in protest.
DPAs are part of the UK legal landscape and they permit large corporations to pay fines – essentially to buy themselves out of legal action – wh3 years ago Read more -
Blog postThis is a cut&paste of a review that will appear on Amazon and possibly GoodReads.
Feast of Sapphires Matt Nagin
Personal experiences, social commentary, in seventy-eight poems.
four stars
As always, do not let my star count override your judgement of content. More on the stars, counting, and my rating challenges later. I am a tough reviewer, and only one person’s opinion can appear here. Let’s get to the good stuff, Nagin’s work.
3 years ago Read more -
Blog postBrexit was, imho, a bad idea.
Brexit was, imho, manipulated via Facebook via a Canadian company via a free sports lottery.
Brexit is so f…d up I can’t see straight when I read the news. There is a Lot of fear-mongering.
– Brits will run out of food, medicines, et cetera.
Let’s have a serious look at that claim. The EU will suddenly be able to sell, elsewhere, the fresh food and stale medicines it normally sends to the UK?
Why aren’t those EU corporate i3 years ago Read more -
Blog postGuaranteed income experiment: Cancelled by Doug Ford.
University campuses subsidy: Cancelled by Doug Ford.
Impoverished student subsidy: Cancelled by Doug Ford, replaced by a fee cut that benefits everyone, including the rich. The poor get to borrow more, and have less time after graduating to start paying interest. Shafted by Doug Ford.
Ontario Place refreshment: about to be manipulated by Doug Ford. He’ll probably insist on a large ferris wheel. Designed by Doug Ford3 years ago Read more -
Blog postI will carefully spell his name here. Mohammed bin Salman. (from Wikipedia.)
He is the current crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
He is implicated in the killing of Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Turkey.
Now I invoke Lenin’s Law: to understand a historical event, find out who profited from it.
MBS has consolidated power with many scary moves, including imprisoning a large number of key Saudi persons in a ‘gold star’ hotel. Many were allowed to exit af3 years ago Read more -
Blog postA few days ago my cell phone went off for an emergency alert system test.
There was an emergency alert in Hawaii last year that turned out to be false. The threat of an incoming missile was incorrect. Officials did not correct this for some 38 minutes.
I have a request to the tall foreheads setting up this emergency alert system. Don’t warn me of an incoming atomic missile. There’s nothing I can do in this case, and would rather be surprised than spend a minute or so in dread.4 years ago Read more -
Blog postI personally own and use a number of ‘technical’ pieces of equipment. My cameras all have a serial number. My binoculars all have a serial number. My desktop and laptops all have a serial number. My car has a VIN number which uniquely identifies it. Some (expensive) cars have the VIN recorded again, hidden in multiple parts and places.
I submit that a drone is roughly as complex as a good camera. So, why do they not have serial numbers burned into them?? Why is this not a legal requir4 years ago Read more
Titles By Jim Bennett
time, opportunity, loved ones, and of life itself. A life reduced to memorial
names or tags on museum exhibits.
Loss includes loneliness on a subway ride, posessions melted in a fire, life
long love turning a slow corner. Keeping an unusual pet solely for company.
There is comic relief, and some pleasant experiences, capturing the small things
that make us human and able to cope and even look forward.
You will meet faces. Maybe your own, disguising motives. Maybe another, full of undiguised
rage in a public place.
Poetry is about experience. Not all of these will be gentle, but you will share
what Bennett has captured for you.
It's all just words until you read them.
Some thinking is visual, as in spatial ability. We buy travel postcards and take
photos. Communication can be done by gestures. But most of our lives are about
relationships, where the visual and the gesture are enriched by language. We
talk to each other, about each other, and think about our personal experiences -
and sensations - in words.
These poems capture experience, much of it in relationships. Loneliness.
Despair. Arguments. Affairs or almost-affairs, turn-ons and turn-offs, regret
and joy. And sometimes, the need for denial.
Poems 6, Fortress, is about all of this. How we manage in a world of trouble,
and how we can sometimes focus on the best parts, and sometimes, find a way to
step out of the march of truth for a moment of peace. This book contains a few
mildly adult situations. It is not for children.
Images and sensations in this volume are conjured up by words.
For the impatient, there are cinquains: each a short read with a point or a
laugh. For the patient, there are longer poems, including an improper rondeau,
free verse, a mirror, and stanza rhymes.
As always, ambiguity may be present and is deliberate. You'll figure this out,
as these poems were written for us - for you.
Words. Read and enjoy.
Poetry is about experience. It has the power to deliver experience to you. Retirement Clock explores retirement, the past, and regret for the passing of time. If you are approaching or of retirement age, these poems will speak directly to you. If you have a friend or relative in that situation, it will help you gather a clearer idea of what they are going through.
Some of the poems are clearly historic: in one piece, what it was like to camp ‘wild’ before development took over is captured. Others were written purely for fun, and there is at least one enigmatic poem in Moon Dreamer.
Retirement Clock includes 54 somewhat longer poems, including free verse, cinquains, multiple cinquains, rondeaux, rhymed verse, one lyric, one mirror, and a compound poem—chosen around a theme. The result was tested with my severest critics—members of my writing group. They were not gentle, but they were thorough, and for this I thank them.
As always, ambiguity may be present. You’re encouraged to explore the multiple meanings. You’ll figure this out, as these poems were written for you.
Not all of the pieces are serious; I make fun of myself at least once as well. The title poem was a satisfying one to write; I had tried this concept in other ways before pulling The Scroll of the Violin together for us. It reveals my own some-time philosophy, what I am able to believe on a good day.
As for religion, I am convinced that there is deep value in all beliefs. Perhaps in some sense every religion is true. Or, to slightly misquote Richard Dawkins, if there is a God out there, it could be a lot bigger and more complicated than what's in an easily stated religious description.
As always, ambiguity may be present and it is deliberate. Some poems will benefit from second and third readings. You'll figure this out, as these poems were written for us, and that includes you.
Poetry is about experience, and has the power to transmit that experience to readers. Here I give you fify-seven unique, sometimes scary, experiences.
This selection of poems is not for children, nor is it for squeamish adults.
My first poetry collection was about loss and coping. My second was about relationships, good and bad.
This collection probes unique personal problems of different lives in difficult situations. You may recognize yourself, or a friend, or an enemy in these pieces. You may come to a different view of what it means to be in one of these unfortunate realities.
There are also some normal relationship pieces, and some pieces written just for fun. Ten salacious limericks are also included.
You will find rhymed irregular, rhymed regular, blank verse, a villanelle, a mirror, distorted mirrors, cinquains, limkericks, one prose poem, one sonnet, and one rondeau.
As always, ambiguity may be present and is deliberate. Some poems will benefit from second and third readings. You'll figure this out, as these poems were written for us, and that includes you.
These poems are told from various points of view, depending on the situation. There are rhymed verses, rhymed irregular, blank verse, cinquains, multiple cinquains, a haiku, three mirrors, a rondeau, and an aptly named villanelle. Some comic relief pieces are included.
As always, ambiguity may be present, and it is deliberate. Some poems may benefit from extra readings.
You'll figure this out. These poems were written for human beings living in todays world, that is, for us, and thus for you.
The untimely death of my father was the inspiration for more than one of these poems, and a significant anniversary is coming up. Sometimes funerals seem to come in flocks, with a new loss every few weeks. Sometimes a chance remark will bring back an image, a laugh, a ghost. I have captured some of that in this volume.
You will find cinquains, mirrors, rhymed stanzas, a rondeau, one prose poem, and blank verse. You will find deliberate ambiguity and harsh accuracy. Some poems are easily accessible, and others may benefit from a second reading. Some are literal and some figurative.
You'll figure all this out. These poems were written for us, that is, for you.