Overview

Diana Hayes has given us a mesmer, an exquisite, lyrical collection, poignant with the past of oceans, rocks, islands, the global environment.. Hayes writes as ""fog falling beyond water,"" catching the reader off guard, drawing us in. Read this book and ""savour (the) words slowly like it's a matter of survival."" Myth is embodied in the particulars of place. She paints a ""olfactory, tactile"" world of colour that is both keenly observed and gloriously illustrated. Hayes steers us through heavy storms, her call for compassion permeating as we battle mortality in the search for meaning. Symbolism seeps through photos like ""Bridging the White Water"" and close ups of roses and dragonflies, musicality hooks readers, then transports them beyond words to mood and time. ""

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9781774033890

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Reviews

Imagine a meeting between Robert Frost and David Attenborough, and they make poetry together. Hawking the Surf is it; a masterpiece that takes the reader on a grand journey to the Western shores on the wings of butterflies. As you travel through the latitudes, share in the memories and dreams of the poet, you will undoubtedly be carried on as this reader was. This is a collection that you will want to read again and again, something not so common with poetry anymore. It is full of emotions, passions, and realities that are most relatable to all of us. Although you may never have traveled to those realms, you are certain to experience them as if you had. The author gives us access to an entire natural world, and we want to hug it with all our might, love it, and preserve it, however much pain we may have to endure as we do so. This is a winner written by one but made for all. ─ Fabrice Poussin, Professor, Shorter University, Rome, Georgia U.S.A. and author of: Through the Lens of Solitude; Forgive Me For Dreaming; In Absentia; Half Past Life; and The Temptation of Silence. ─/ -- These poems are steeped in the complex geography of Canada's west coast and the Pacific Ocean waters around Vancouver Island. Whether you live there or not you will be drawn to how these poems make it clear that landscape and human relationships are intertwined and it is impossible to undo that. The many photographs by Diana Hayes in the book help to ground the poems in the real. ─//'--Robert Hilles, author of: From God's Angle, Don't Hang Your Soul on That, and The Pink Puppet. /─To step into the world of Hawking the Surf is to step into the mist and fog of ephemeral memories from the coast of British Columbia in the 1970's, where Hayes ""walked and paced with no moon to navigate"". Accompanied by her mystical photographs in endless hues of gray, the poems rest softly on the reader while carrying an emotional power that slowly wrenches the heart. ─//--Cynthia Pitman, Orlando, Florida, author of: Broken; The White Room; Blood Orange; and Breathe. ─/─ To step into the world of Hawking the Surf is to step into the mist and fog of ephemeral memories from the coast of British Columbia in the 1970's, where Hayes ""walked and paced with no moon to navigate"". Accompanied by her mystical photographs in endless hues of gray, the poems rest softly on the reader while carrying an emotional power that slowly wrenches the heart. ─ Cynthia Pitman, Orlando, Florida, author of: Broken; The White Room; Blood Orange; and Breathe. ─//──In Hawking the Surf, Diana Hayes has given us a mesmer, an exquisite, lyrical collection, poignant with her personal and literary past, and with the past of oceans, rocks, islands, the global environment. Despite clearly marked geographical coordinates for many of the poems in headnotes, Hayes writes as ""fog falling beyond water,"" catching the reader off guard, drawing us in. Read this book and ""savour the words slowly like it's a matter of survival. ─ Arleen Paré author of: Absence of Wings.

Author Information

Diana Hayes currently resides on the traditional and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Hul'q'umi'num' and SENĆOŦEN speaking people-what is known as Salt Spring Island BC. She was born in Toronto and has lived on the east and west coasts of Canada. She received her BA (UVIC) and MFA (UBC) in Creative Writing and has published seven books of poetry, most recently Labyrinth of Green (Plumleaf Press), Language of Light (House of Appleton), and Sapphire and the Hollow Bone (Ekstasis Editions) which was a finalist for the Sunshine Coast (SCWES) Poetry Award. Deeper Into the Forest, a spoken word/music CD, was produced at Allowed Sound Studio in 2020 with musician and sound engineer, Andy Meyers. She has been shortlisted for The Freefall Poetry Contest, the RCLAS Poetry Contest, The Delta Literary Arts Society Short Film Festival, Muriel's Journey Poetry Contest, and she won first place in the North Vancouver Writers' Association Poetry Contest. Her debut novella, Looking for Cornelius, was published fall 2025 by Wipf & Stock/Resource Publications. She launched Raven Chapbooks in 2020 and publishes small edition poetry chapbooks featuring B.C. poets. Poet's Website: DianaHayes.ca

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