8/13/2019 Shaffrans poems tell the story of transformative journey

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September 30, 2013 Ottawa Jewish Bulletin Page 13

Shaffrans poems tell the story of transformative journey By Ilana BelferRona Shaffrans new book

of poetry, her rst publishedcollection, follows a lustlesscouple through a transforma-tive journey from disconnectto rekindled passion.

The womans magic-re-alist voyage to an exotic lo-cale leads to a personal and,consequently, joint awaken-ing, which causes the coupleto Ignite , the books title, asthey grow older together.

In her personal life, too,Shaffran a.k.a. Rona Shaf-fran-Tannenbaum is nostranger to the idea of a trans-formational journey: after 30years with the Auditor Gen-eral of Canadas of ce, shewent from government bu-reaucrat to published creativewriter, starting on her newcareer path at 51.

I guess its a story aboutnever really knowing wherean event is going to takeyou, said Shaffran, 62, re-ferring to her own story thistime.

While waiting for a de-layed ight at the Rome air-

port, in 2001, she struck up aconversation with the womansitting beside her, who rec-ommended she visit the vol-canic islands on the Tyrrhe-nian Sea between Sicily andthe Italian mainland.

From the minute she de-scribed those islands to me ...It was like a calling, Shaf-fran said.

She and her husband, Bri-an Tannenbaum, went there

the following year.I felt, somehow, a sense

of familiarity ... almost likea coming home, she said.And, the landscape, it wasso mesmerizing to me that I

began to write ... furiously.Until then, shed written

only intermittently, partic-ularly in high school anduniversity, she said, wonder-ing aloud whether it was allbeshert .

The ideas in the book

came to her one afternoon onthe hotels terrace, staring atthe the volcano, a creatureasleep; on its belly, stretchesout; along the centre of theisland, as she describes it inthe poem Chimera.

But she never envisioneda book, per se. Like Shaffran,that concept evolved over 11years as she honed her craftat the Humber School forWriters, the Banff CentreWriting Studio, and OttawasTree Reading Series, whichshe co-directed from 2009 to2012 and where she still sitson the board.

Although she wrote the poems separately and non-se-quentially, the pieces seemedto fall together, she said.

Ignite , which Shaffrancalled a story of hope, re-newal and change, is com-

parable to a small novella.Each poem is a moment, orvignette, in an overall story,

but can also be read individu-ally. Thinking of it as a novelhelped Shaffran dig deeperinto the characters and their

motives, she said.In the book, Language is

used sparingly, commentsCanadian poet Barry Demp-ster, in a quote on the backcover. It isnt until after a

page has been turned that younotice each line is bleeding

just a little around the edges.I just nd it very chal-

lenging to say a lot with fewwords, Shaffran explained.Its economical, but power-ful ... its compressed, but itexpands at the same time.

That stripped-down, suc-cinct style re ned by heryears in the civil service gives readers space to injecttheir own imagination andexperiences into Shaffrans

work, which is exactly whatshes after.

I dont want it to be a passive experience, she said.The exciting part is whenanother person connects withwhat youre saying.

She said she hopes herclean, minimal approach,combined with the poemsarrangement in a narrativeform will help her connectwith a broader audience thanmost poetry books reach.

Poetry is often dif cultto understand and peoplekind of steer away from it,

but I think in this case ... the poems are understandable,she said.

Shaffran is now working

on a second book of poetry

and prose, as well as startinga new reading series withRod Pederson called Rail-

road.Visit ronashaffran.ca for

more information on Shaf-fran or Ignite .

Rona Shaffran