Letters to Salonika, June 26th
This digital exhibit presents materials housed in the Robert Kroetsch archives at the University of Calgary’s Archives and Special Collections. The materials surround letters he wrote to his lover while she was in Greece. These specific pages were written reflecting on her absence on the poet’s birthday, June 26, 1981. The exhibit consists of two typescript versions of Kroetsch's epistolary poem "Letters to Salonika", the first four pages consist of the letter, while the final presents the published poetic materials regarding the same event.
These pages are of interest because they illustrate that though Kroetsch writes poetry directly regarding his life, the editorial process taken distances Kroetsch as a person from Kroetsch as a poetic figure. It also illustrates that though Kroetsch’s letters were extensive, through his poetic process the same narrative becomes concise. This characteristic of his style represents the emotional distance that Kroetsch’s creative process inflicts on his poetry.
Credits
Van Dyk, Leah; Kippin, Genista