Appreciating the vastness and wonder of nature in the midst of social turmoil… it’s true that Paulette Dubé’s new book couldn’t be timelier, even if an evacuation adds an extra level of relevance.
The Jasper poet recently published her newest collection, borne out of something she started a few years ago. While “Naked Pictures” might have an alluring title – “that's probably my best title ever,” she admitted – the substance of it is more about finding peace, finding connection with the world and being reassured that everything tends to work out okay. Still, it might be wise to ask for it as “the new book of Paulette Dubé’s poetry.”
Dubé spoke with the Fitzhugh in the early afternoon of Monday, July 22. The interview was well before lightning caused multiple wildfires nearby and winds soon whipped them into a frenzy, necessitating the evacuation of 25,000 or so residents and visitors in Jasper National Park, eventually resulting in the burning destruction of more than one-third of the structures in the townsite.
Some of the same upheaval prompted this poetry-slash-photography project during the first year of COVID. The author had already made a regular practice of taking hikes around town, making field notes of her experiences and thoughts and snapping photos along the way. At home, she would find a picture that worked with the words and then post the two together on social media.
This was simply her way of connecting to people who used to live in Jasper and missed it.
“It was kind of a love letter to them from the place. And then when COVID hit, I thought, ‘Well, I'm going to keep doing this, but with a purpose because everything just fell apart,’” she said.
“There was no more Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… there was no more whatever. I said, ‘If I don't give myself something to do and make it a job sort of thing, I will probably lose my mind, and start doing a lot more sourdough.’”
Trading bread for artistic reflection is our gain. Dubé has been writing both poetry and prose for three decades, primarily about relationships.
A lot of it has been about family relationships, but over the last 10 years, it has turned to be all about the environment.
This was her first time offering her own images in what is otherwise a book of poetry. She even debated turning it into a coffee table book filled with glossy pages of her admittedly non-professional photos.
“Thank goodness we have really nice things to take pictures of,” she said, relieved that the natural beauty of Jasper National Park covered those bases.
“It turned out really, really well, a lot better than a 63-page book of poetry, which is what they usually run at, or even a 100-page book of photographs. They're pretty and they're postcard-like, but they really are very practical,” she said. “This, I find, is incredibly practical.”
Perhaps because the photographs aren't professional or polished, it still works to serve as something to focus on like a meditation, with images of nature and the poet’s placid, pensive words for the reader to ponder.
Seeing the photos that inspired the words also worked well in bringing readers into her world with the hopeful note of enticing them to enter their own worlds. At the very least, she was pleased with the result.
“They married quite beautifully together,” she said.
Even the small size of the paperback aptly reminded her of her field notebook. Now in print, it’s also a CBC Books Poetry Selection, adding another level of notoriety to what she calls an experimental hybrid project.
She made sure to thank the Jasper Municipal Library profusely for its support of her over the years, most recently with her book launch event hosted by Niki Wilson.
She also thanked Friends of Jasper National Park, 3Sheets, and Basecamp Outfitters for offering local places for people to purchase her book.
“It is fantastic to know that this town, they really take care of the creative people. They really do. They go above and beyond making sure that we're supported.”
