Menu
header photo

Clay Road

poetry of Emily Isaacson

The Fleur-de-lis book trailer

The Fleur-de-lis


“If these delicate feet could dance, the spaces would echo with tears, but the room is silent and visitors come in and out, and the windows reveal young girls outside, in imagined old leotards and ballet shoes, scuffed with time . . .

The fury of the imagination is passion and, in a stenciled choreographed life, no movement is immaterial, timing is exact and the curve of your hand or the tilt of your head string a nice set of scales. When the movement is mastered, the next position demands attention and the next, like a succession of children holding hands.  The creation is of the author, and passion is their forward movement.”

Thus begins The Fleur-de-lis, an 800 page document in poetry by Emily Isaacson sent to Prince William over 5 years. Unlike a ballet in literature, experience the richness and depth of her postmodern verse, and the beauty and nuances of the local countryside and art.

This volume of postmodern poetry is Canadiana literature in bloom: the sea, the stars and the North all appear at Emily’s eloquent table. The perspective stemming from her disciplined art, its prolific influence, her painterly presence, her sense of decorum, and nicely, the silver thread throughout her epistle of romance all establish Emily as a prominent poet of Canadian birth.

The Fleur-de-lis captures the simple essence of both martyrdom and liturgy, memorizes the moments of soul, and makes the sacred a poignant and lyric capture. A literary monument, this reflective work of poetry is both mythic and contemplative. 

 

                                        The Fleur-de-lis   Volumes I II III


About volume three:

India Passage was written by Emily Isaacson in 2006, inspired by Walt Whitman's "Passage To India." Emily Isaacson's riveting collection is free verse pieces, and after 25 years of crafting poetry, her lyrical voice and practiced ear produce a carefree and lilting result: the sea, the journey, the ship all come to  life in this postmodern poetry with romance and spiritual transcendence as destination.


The Ship Lantern

The light on the water
gleaming at silence,
the steady hum of the prow,
and derelict rope coiled.


Where I stand, the nations wait
riveted in darkness,
fearful to trespass and
asking to eat at this fortunate table.


Where once my hair met with the wind,
and the storm in my eyes
was a virgin bow,
the sea was an unchartered course,
domain of mariners afierce.


The moon shall rise
in this salty sky,
round and full,
it will guide the way;
and the night,
flickering with candles,
will be lit by the undying
legacy of youth.


One by one, they join the stars,
perishing at the hands
of their tormentors;
death shall not overshadow
the silent song,
of what will rise
and overcome.

 --Emily Isaacson

 The Fleur-de-lis Vol III, p. 363 


 

Endorsements

       

           

Read endorsements


 

Buy Here

The Fleur-de-lis Volume III: Buy now


 

Celebrating Poetry

Article April 26, 2011  

The Abbotsford News, Abbotsford, B.C.

Poetry month

In recognition of April as poetry month, Abbotsford resident Emily Isaacson has released a new book, The Fleur-de-lis.  Written in French and English, it contains more than 800 poems. Emily served on the board of directors of the MAC Art Gallery for three years in the Fraser Valley and has served as natural health practitioner at the Xa:ytem Longhouse in Mission. She founded the Emily Isaacson Institute in 2005 for literature, arts and medicine. The Fleur-de-lis is published in three volumes and can be purchased in bookstores or at the official site ...

Quote from the Foreword . . .

The Fleur-de-lis is a partaking of spiritual renaissance, defined by the cloistering and chastisement of martyrdom itself. In the text we see the richness and depth of the poet’s diametrically established and ordered world. Piecing together the journey of royalty from humble beginning to glittering coronation, the poet is given to birth and pierced by nature. The language of verse speaks as medium, chronicling human nature in all its pathos and gestation.