Proof of a Tongue (poetry)

The cover of Proof of a Tongue by Sandra Alland. The title and author’s name are both right-aligned in white in the middle of the cover, above and below a line separating two photos. The top photo is a selfie of a person swimming under blue water, from upper torso all the way to the chin. Their face is ablve the water and therefore blurred. The photo repeats, zoomed in to the chin and blurred face, on the bottom half of the cover.

Order Info

Description

  • Sandra’s first full-length poetry collection, 104 pages
  • edited by Stuart Ross

Proof of a Tongue eloquently establishes a new poetic voice worthy of serious attention. Sandra Alland writes with dry wit and mature assurance, grounding a sophisticated metaphysical vocabulary in the colloquial. Language is a perfect tool in her hands. Proof of a Tongue describes Scarborough as a ‘town of serial killers and suicide vistas’ and asserts that inflection can soothe with ‘miraculous breath.’ From ‘the sadness teenage girls have difficulty naming’ to boys who draw ‘VanGogh/Kahlo sandwiches’ Sandra Alland gazes slyly at life, smoothly piercing the surfaces of meaning. Alland exerts a deft control of subject and language.

Reviews:

“…a striking first collection of poetry, displaying immense talent and skill.”
– word: Toronto’s Literary Calendar