Poems To Slay Dragons-- by Robin L. Harvey
“Let me drown her whispered lies in yellow blooms/ so at last I hear my children laugh in sunny rooms/ amid the scent of daffodils” Robin L. Harvey
Followers of Not The Public Broadcaster have no doubt noticed the recent addition of Robin L. Harvey to our author’s list. A former Toronto Star journalist/ editor and actor (she starred in our play Cheating at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre in 1978) she’s become our literary and theatre reviewer.
But Robin is also an accomplished poet. Maybe we’re biased, but her collection Poems To Slay Demons (PTSD) is a mature, feminist voyage from surviving to thriving in a tumultuous world. Her struggles for love and sanity are portrayed with compassion, humour and empathy.
The topic is not easy. For an artist to bare their soul after the exigencies of life is bracing, but she meets the challenge of one trauma survivor’s journey with mental illness, child abuse and addiction, through to rebirth, self-love, reconciliation and joy. Ranging from the punishing scourge of Covid-19 to love poems Poems To Slay Demons is a portrait of the modern woman in dangerous times.
A mental health advocate, Robin helped found the Institute for Journalism Studies in Addiction and Mental Health and coordinated the Check-Up from the Neck Up anti-stigma campaign, for which she was honoured with CAMH's Courage to Come Back Award. Her credo is, “no matter how troubled our past may have been, it need not define who we are or how we live”.
You can see her outreach reflected in the poems which sear the soul and also bring about a smile. We are proud she’s chosen to grace our pages in concert with my own poems on the In Other Words site. http://www.notthepublicbroadcaster.com/dowbboy.
Robin has also done live readings from the book at Old Words Storytelling and ArtBar Poetry Series— both in her hometown of Toronto. The critical reception for Robin’s work has been enthusiastic. Here are but a few of the most prominent.
"...a fine wordsmith who senses a good story and cuts right through to what matters."
Best-selling author Linwood Barclay
"...a great, solid manuscript … that is ready to fly."
Humber faculty mentor, author and poet Richard Scarsbrook, selected Harvey for the Letter of Distinction.
“Courageous and relentlessly honest, these are poems to console readers battling their own demons. Robin Harvey has been there. She gets it.”— Rona Maynard’s review of PTSD Poems to Slay Demons | Goodreads
“The author’s employment of a range of literary techniques builds each poem confidently. Her carefully-chosen adjectives and accomplished extended metaphors pack a punch” .https://annabelharz.com/2022/10/22/ptsd/ by author and mental health advocate Annabel Harz.
"Harvey’s style is sharp and wonderfully rhythmic. These poems are a joy to read and to speak.”-- https://www.kristianareed.com/post/review-ptsd-poems-to-slay-demons by Kristiana Reed.
"Harvey melds symbols from ancient mythology and religion with modern day slang, rap music, and social media memes. Though she may rage against social injustice and the politics that divide and oppress us, Harvey’s unique voice can resound with whimsy as easily as it melts into tender expressions of passion and love.”-- https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/ptsd-poems-to-slay-demons-robin-l-harvey#review by scholar fatima aladdin
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4863644073?book_show_action=false by author and journalist Heather Archer
Pete Walker, psychotherapist, social worker, and counsellor and is the author of Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving, said his reading of the book "reveals to me that you are an awesome poet!” To which we say, you bet.
Poems To Slay Dragons is available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble and Goodreads.