Paperwork: An Anthology

Paperwork, a provocative sampling of the best new work writing in North America, breaks this taboo. These poems are written by people who build houses and machines, catch fish, take care of children, manage companies, work hard at looking for work, and much more. The writing is funny and tough and sad and angry, and the poems come from insiders - men and women who work for a living. Praise for Going for Coffee, Tom Wayman's first anthology of work poetry (1981): "Going for Coffee has a freshness that kept me going through it ... The poems are funny, or horrifying, or just as truthful in some unsuspected way." -Robert Fulford, Toronto Star "For me, the work writing fills a large gap in literacy education ... it provides the richness of the human experience in the language of working people, and does so in a rich array of voices - exultant, sorrowful, angry, wry." -Stephanie Smith, former director, Reading for Life Adult Literacy Program, Watsonville, California

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION: Visible Consequences, Invisible Jobs INVOCATION: "YOU CAN KEEP YOUR POETRY" Bill Hastings Todd Jailer CORNCOBS ON THE SLAG ROAD Slab on Grade Clem Starck Me and Maloney Clem Starck Dismantling Clem Starck Journeyman's Wages Clem Starck Concrete Fever Kate Braid Recipe for a Sidewalk Kate Braid On the Edge Brad Barber Connecticut Zen David McKain Unlike Napoleon Joseph Maviglia First Job Joseph Maviglia Portuguese John Joseph Maviglia Work Season Joseph Maviglia Inverno (Winter) Joseph Maviglia The Ghost in the Gears Howard White Watching Wheels Jim McLean By Moonlight Jim McLean Klik Jim McLean I Don't Write Poems for Railroaders Jim McLean Throwing a Shoe Todd Jailer Motto of the Line Crews Todd Jailer I'm Driving Todd Jailer In Loco Citato Timothy Russell Walhalla, North Dakota William Borden Rippin' With the "8" Frank Cross On Hearing That Ezra Becker Was Killed While Plowing Craig Challender Night Harvesting Richard Holinger Harvest at Night Janet Kauffman Hands Linda Hasselstrom Salvage Grain David Lee Racehogs David Lee A Day of Mourning, 24 November '75 David Lee The Hay Swather David Lee The Farm David Lee Some Things Work Stephen Lewandowski I'm So Lonesome in the Saddle Since My Horse Died Sid Marty Dangerous Work Peter Christensen Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening Peter Christensen Swamp King Sid Marty Fire Storm on Mount Whymper Jim Green We Come To Ask for Your Bones Mike O'Connor The Finishing Peter Trower Collision Course Peter Trower Goosequill Snags Peter Trower Trimming the Tree David McKain Power Line Andrew Wreggitt Slow Learner Bruce Hunier Chiff Factor Bruce Hunier Treeplanting in the Rain Jim Dodge Convoy Tim McNulty The Cooksweat and the Mechanic Dymphny Koenig-Clement Recurring Nightmares Dymphny Koenig-Clement Madonna Dymphny Koenig-Clement Banting Today in Afternoon Heat Robert MacLean Today a Wasp Crawled into My Bellybutton Robert MacLean On My Tenth Anniversary as a Treeplanter Finn Wilcox Dirt Work Stephen Lewandowski They Dream of Being Gardeners Bruce Hunier Billy No Longer the Kid Bruce Hunier Tiresias II Howard White West Coast Zoe Landale The 1982 Purse Seine Roe Herring Fishery M.C. Warrior Deep Lining Carolyn Borsman Halibut Douglas Dobyns Seppo Carolyn Borsman Vancouver Harbor Carolyn Borsman The Fisherman and the Logger Howard White SOMETHING THEY CLAIM CAN'T BE MADE First Day on a New Jobsite Susan Eisenberg Through the Ceiling, Maiden Voyage Susan Eisenberg 'Girl' on the Crew Kate Braid These Hips Kate Braid Hanging In, Solo Susan Eisenberg They Said Women Always Quit Donna Langston Factory Girls Joni Miller The Women's Committee Leona Gom Waiting Leona Gom Quilting Bee Sandy Shreve Cavities Leona Gom PIECE BY PIECE YOU DELIVER YOURSELF Adjustment 1: Shifting Piles Lesléa Newman Secretary 1 Mickey Bickerstaff Meditation on a Typo Catherine Shaw Resignation Catherine Shaw Secretary Miriam Goodman Xerox Miriam Goodman Cafeteria Miriam Goodman Sanctuary Catherine Shaw Companion Sandy Shreve Computer Lab Miriam Goodman Death of a Computer Operator Richard Grossman Manuai Action 1 Pam Tranfield Have You Ever Considered... Susan Meurer Back in the Shop Susan Meurer Once When I Was a Bank Clerk Glen Sorestad Tech Writer Roger Taus The Book Truck Sandy Shreve Elm Nick Muska Forklift Poem/Winter Nick Muska Why It's Called a Warehouse Nick Muska Two Years Nick Muska What Happened Nick Muska Friendly World of Receiving Ronald Kurt Productivity Ronald Kurt Layoff Ronald Kurt Dispatcher Sawdust Ken Rivard from When the Moving Company is Scholarly: 4. Ken Rivard Mistake Ken Rivard Hearth of Darkness Calvin Wharton Sisters of the Garden Gerald Hill Ice Gerald Hill Waitress Alissa Levine There's Something Wrong with my Soup Mark McCawley Busboy and Waitress: Cashing Out Jim Daniels Adieu Marjorie Marks Deli Suzan Milburn Public Relations: Delayed Train Erin Mouré Not a Train Erin Mouré I Don't Panic Stop for (Ding) Bells Brian Pratt Schedules Brian Pratt To Prove Him Wrong Brian Pratt Teardrops on the Road Brian Pratt Roller Coaster Brian Pratt Their Dispatch David Beaver Our Dispatch David Beaver The Brotherhood David Beaver The Postman Sadhu Binning Tools of my Trade Sue Silvermarie Federal Offense Sue Silvermarie After All Sue Silvermarie Standards Sue Silvermarie from Ever Took Me Seriously as a CPR Cop Ken Rivard Flying the Night Freight Robert Garrison Working Alone Andrew Vaisius Joyce Josephson Kirsten Emmou No Fear of Blood Kirsten Emmou Junkie/Mother Kirsten Emmon Job Description Alicia Priest Working While Others Sleep Alicia Priest The Unconscious Patient Alicia Priest Seeing Lazarus Alicia Priest Reading the Entrails Glen Downie Grieving Glen Downie Louise Glen Downie Prosthetics Glen Downie Mr. Petrie Phil Hall Answers Kirsten Emmott Newborn Zoe Landale Ravaged: A Love Poem Mary di Michele "Who Looks After Your Kids?" Kirsten Emmott Fear of Failure Dale Zieroth The Death of the Violin Dale Zieroth Grade Nine Evelyn Grayson On Being Teacher Rep in the Student Swimathon Robert Currie from The Chalkboard Poems: The Magnates Glen Sorestad from The Chalkboard Poems. The Carp Glen Sorestad from The Chalkboard Poems: Moonfighter Glen Sorestad from The Chalkboard Poems: Efficiency Expert Glen Sorestad College Ron Miles Students Tom Wayman Marking Tom Wayman Show Jim Daniels For Kirsten Emmott, Doctor & Poet Phil Hall The Aging Flight Instructor Braces - Not Unnoticeably - for a Bad Landing by an Energetic Student Bob Garrison Door to Door for a Tenant's Union David McKain THE WORK OF LOOKING FOR WORK Warningsigns Susan Eisenberg from Job Wrung Poems: 4. Penny Pixler E-Way Counter Leon E. Chamberlain Endako Shutdown Andrew Wreggitt The Work of Looking for Work M.R. Appell Nobody's Heroes M.R. Appell Getting It Up M.R. Appell The Panama Canal Clem Starck The Myth of the Self-Made Man Zo� Landale Lay of the Long-Lived Leftovers Zo� Landale Mea Culpa Zo� Landale Lotteries Jamie Pearson Job Placement Board Pam Tranfield DEAR FOREMAN Steel Edges Calvin Wharton The Horn Blow Jeff Tagami from Factory: II Antler from Factory: IV Antler The Coil Winder Sue Dora Earl's Poems: 1 and 3 Sue Doro You Can't Go Back to Work in the Middle of a Card Game Sue Doro Doris's Poem Sue Doro Factory Education Jim Daniels Timers Jim Daniels Signing Jim Daniels Killbuck: A Poem for Grinders Richard Stansberger The Sound: Factory System Poem Tom Wayman Walking Papers Andrew Wreggitt God Helps Those Jeff Poniewas A-7 Crib Leon E. Chamberlain Visions Leon E. Chamberlain Song, Endako Andrew Wreggitt Dear Foreman John Morton Slime Warning John Morton Boiler Lancer John Morton Pin-boy John Morton The Sintering Plant John Morton Graveyard Shift Peter Trower In Toto Timothy Russell Wiredraw Jeff Friedman Asbestos Susan Eisenberg Choice Cut-Up Chicken David Everest How to Dress a Salmon Michael B. Turner The Washers'Il Wash It Michael B. Turner 7:59 A.M. Michael B. Turner Rat Hole Calvin Wharton In July '86 I Gave Notice at my Proofreading Job in Toronto. . . Phil Hall Herring Season David Conn Welders' Time David Conn Some Kind of Bonus David Conn Song of the Hammer David Conn False Creek David Conn CALLING YOU ON MY BREAK Class Conscious Kate Braid Midnight Date Jim Daniels Nightwatch M.C. Warrior Billy Lyn Ferlo Empty Bed Blues Kirsten Emmou Trying to Turn a Bad Thing into Good Sue Doro Post Mortem Sandy Shreve Ext. 282 Phil Hall Earth Clings to the Roots Pat Erwin Salyer Perspective Leona Gom Stolen Sunday Sue Silvermarie Time and a Half Todd Jailer As in the Beginning Mary di Michele My Young Brother Don Howard White Youngest in Canada Andrew Wreggitt WHEN THEY PUSH THE BUTTONS TO RISE My Job Michael B. Turner Traitor Jim McLean How Clayton Got to be Foreman Bruce Severy This is my New Job Chip Goodrich The Administrator's Office Jean Flanagan Committee Theory Richard Grossman The Corner Office Richard Grossman Climbing Richard Grossman Business Tao Richard Grossman Speaking in Tongues R.W. Sandford Day One: 9:15 A.M. R. W. Sandford Day Three: Application Class Two From Prison R.W. Sandford Day Three: Training R. W. Sandford Day Ten: A Resignation Letter R.W. Sandford Graig's Talk Erin Mouré Broadview Erin Mouré The Department Head Gerald Hill Management Gerald Hill LESS LIKE ANTS Worker Classificaton: Material Handler Glen Downie Paper, Scissors, Stone Tom Wayman Ontario Equal Pay Rally & Celebration Gwen Hauser E = MC2 (Pay Day) Gwen Hauser The Big Theft Tom Wayman Closure Susan Meurer Health and Safety Susan Meurer To a Worker Never Known Susan Meurer Grievance Procedure Sandy Shreve The Grievance Rhona McAdam Sorry I'm Late Pam Tranfield Politics of View Siephen Lewandowski Has Anyone Seen the Working Class? Howard White The Unofficial Report Dale Hall At the Grand Opening Brett Enemark In the Brief Intervals Between their Struggles Our People Dream Erin Mouré The Truckdriver Howard White O The Lions of Fire. . . Roger Taus Blue Collar Goodbyes Sue Doro Margaret's Party Jeni Miller Icon in Rye Bruce Hunter Retake the City Robert Carson It's All Our Fault AI Grierson The Way I Figure It Antler Written After Learning Slaves in Ancient Greece and Rome had 115 Holidays a Year Antler Zero-Hour Day Zero-Day Workweek Antler And You Know It Sadhu Binning Rhetoric Dale Zieroth Our Negotiator Speaks to Theirs Dale Zieroth Caught in the News Dale Zieroth November Leona Gom CONTRIBUTORS

About the Author :
Tom Wayman was born in Ontario in 1945, but has spent most of his life in British Columbia. He has worked at a number of jobs, both blue and white-collar, across Canada and the U.S., and has helped bring into being a new movement of poetry in these countries--the incorporation of the actual conditions and effects of daily work. His poetry has been awarded the Canadian Authors' Association medal for poetry, the A.J.M. Smith Prize, first prize in the USA Bicentennial Poetry Awards competition, and the Acorn-Plantos Award; in 2003 he was shortlisted for the Governor-General's Literary Award. He has published more than a dozen collections of poems, six poetry anthologies, three collections of essays and three books of prose fiction. He has taught widely at the post-secondary level in Canada and the U.S., most recently (2002-2010) at the University of Calgary. Since 1989 he has been the Squire of "Appledore," his estate in the Selkirk Mountains of southeastern BC.