For more than 20 years Bob Jensen has devoted his life to promoting the music careers of dozens of regional, national and international artists, earning widespread respect within the industry.
Building a booking agency with his wife has consumed much of his time and his creative energy, but Jensen has always had a second outlet for that creative energy – as a writer and poet – earning kudos from several sources recently for his first spoken word audio book.
And the acknowledgement of his gift for crafting some extraordinarily fine poetry is likely to continue, thanks to the release of a second spoken word audio book, “Prayer To Morning”.
Jensen’s latest audio volume has already gotten a boost from the release to radio of a single from that collection, “The Poet’s Advice to his Young Self”.
As the title suggests, he has used his poetry to craft the kind of message he would like to send to a 10-year-old version of himself, if such a thing were possible. I think many of us would like to share some sage advice acquired through the passage of time to our younger selves.
That single, which really is quite inspirational, features the cello of Natalie Williams Calhoun of Atlantic String Machine and the guitar work of ECMA Award-winner Chris Corrigan, who also produced the record for Jensen at his home studio.
Original music for the single was written by British singer-songwriter Jake Morley, whom Jensen performed with last summer in England.
His last spoken word single, “The Swallowtail”, was well received, receiving airplay across Canada, as well as in the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Australia and New Zealand.,
“Prayer to Morning” offers up 20 pieces by Jensen, several of which he reads over a soundtrack that features music by Corrigan, Morley and Bach.
Much of the material was inspired by Jensen’s experiences growing up in northern New Brunswick where he says he enjoyed a wonderful childhood. That’s certainly the impression he leaves you with here.
His love of nature also features prominently in a number of these works.
He writes in a poem, called “In the Long, Long, Long Ago”, about something which has become increasingly clear to those of us of a certain age, and that is how quickly the seasons, indeed the years, can fly by us.
While much of Jensen’s poetry here is best enjoyed whilst in the embrace of a deep, comfortable armchair, possibly with a nice glass of wine in hand, there are darker moments.
That is particularly true of “A Heavy Millstone”, a poem about the innocence of childhood being stolen by a sexually deviant member of the clergy whose sins are covered up by the church.
Thankfully, that is one of the few dark moments here.
“Prayer to Morning” is in general terms a splendid collection of skillfully crafted poems, well worth a listen for fans of the written word.
American poet John Guzlowski, twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, has called Jensen’s poetry “genius”. Australia’s legendary folkrock artist Shane Howard has called Jensen a gifted poet with a powerful imagination.
They may both be right.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars.
Fun facts
- Bob Jensen will take his poetry to four continents in 2020. Dates are booked for Canada, the U.K., Europe, Australia and Zimbabwe.
- The cover art for “Prayer To Morning” features a painting by well-known Island artist Karen Gallant, designed by Jensen.
- Jensen has a monthly spoken word segment now on CBC Radio called Word Is With Bob Jensen.
- He will release another audio book of poetry featuring dozens of major artists from four continents performing his poetry later this year.
Doug Gallant is a freelance writer and well-known connoisseur of a wide variety of music. His On Track column will appear in The Guardian every second Saturday. To comment on what he has to say or to offer suggestions for future reviews, email him at [email protected].
