Words that Matter: The Bare Bones of our Alphabet by Irene Marques

The Bare Bones of our Alphabet is Irene Marques’ most recent collection of poetry. Published by Mawenzi House, this collection invites readers to enter a world that is both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar in the sense that it speaks to everyday life, delving into our shared human experience. The ins and out of falling in and out of love, the emotional toll of fast-paced life, the traps of rampant capitalism and the lure of illusionary images, for instance, are complemented with unfamiliar, and I would argue, much needed reflections, regarding ethics, values, morals and the power of poetry in today’s society.

Contrary to general perceptions regarding fiction – and in this case poetry – evidence-based research reveals that humanity does in fact require fiction as a vehicle for awareness, dialoguing and tackling important social issues as well as offering solutions to combat societal problems. Poetry, much like all fiction, can be the site for contestation and for telling stories where our most intimate truths as human beings reside. The Bare Bones of our Alphabet is precisely that: an antidote for the ills of society, a refuge for those seeking solace and solidarity.

Marques tackles issues such as poverty, gender, class, capitalism, individualism and even impostor syndrome through ethical communication and powerful language. The necessity for a benign, ethical language runs deep in Marques’ poems where the poetic voice engages with the reader, cautioning and questioning against the traps of modern lifestyle. The language of capitalism that seduces and manipulates our desires is one such trap. Poems like “Broken Down: Make Me Whole” address the harmful influences of social media, the constant need for validation and attention; only through true language, as advocated in “For the Love of Words” can contest our fake world. In other instances, the poetic voice questions centuries old behaviours in particular as these relates to women’s bodies victimized by a male gaze that preys or consumes like “eyes of vulture” as one poem signals. Poems, like “Lucinda” where the woman, sullied by the ills of (male) society, posit the reader to reflect upon the sacred body before exploitation and domination. Ultimately, and perhaps this collection’s most beautiful principle resides in the discussions of love and how true love can only be obtained once we strip down to the bare bones and choose true and ethical language driven by the recognition that we are not gods, but “do have the sacred and fiery power in [us]”.

More info:

irenemarques.net
mawenzihouse.com

Maria João Maciel Jorge

Bio: Irene Marques

Irene Marques is a bilingual writer (writing in English and Portuguese) and Lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Department of English, where she teaches literature, literary theory and creative writing. She has taught at various other Universities in Toronto including University of Toronto, York University and OCAD University. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature, Masters in French Literature and Comparative Literature, a BA in French Language and Literature from the University of Toronto, and a Social Work degree from Ryerson University (now TMU). Irene Marques worked in various social services fields for over 14 years prior to devoting herself entirely to academia and writing, including CAMH/The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Oasis Centre des Femmes, and the YMCA. In 2007, she held a Mellon Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She was born and raised in Portugal and moved to Canada at the age of 20 under the live-in nanny’s working permit.

Her creative writing publications include the poetry collections Wearing Glasses of Water (Mawenzi House, 2007), The Perfect Unravelling of the Spirit (Mawenzi House, 2012) and The Circular Incantation: An Exercise in Loss and Findings (Guernica Editions, 2013), and the novels My House is a Mansion (Leaping Lion books/York University), Uma Casa no Mundo (Imprensa Nacional, Portugal, 2021) and Daria (Inanna Publications, 2021). Uma Casa no Mundo won the 2019 Imprensa Nacional/Ferreira de Castro Prize (Portugal). Her academic publications include the manuscript Transnational Discourses on Class, Gender and Cultural Identity (Purdue University Press, 2011) and numerous articles in international journals or scholarly collectives.