THE MEAN GAME, John Wall Barger

John Wall Barger

Finalist for 2021 The Phillip H. McMath Book Award

Poetry
ISBN-13: 978-1-926794-09-5
$18.95 CDN / $17.95 US | Trade Paperback
April 2019

The Mean Game—John Wall Barger’s fourth book-length entry in what might be called, collectively, a savage comedy—bristles with allegories that explore human cruelty and suffering. Gathering narratives that feel both ancient and modern, Barger forges an apocalyptic vision without sacrificing poetry’s underlying sense of joy, humour and revelation. Part comic book translated from a dead language, and part nightmare dreamscape, The Mean Game is a must-read from one of Canada’s most kinetic writers.

Praise for John Wall Barger

John Wall Barger is one of the rare, essential poets: a poet who has something to say. There’s no bombast in his work, no grandstanding, no pyrotechnics. Just meaning and heart.—Sharon McCartney, author of Metanoia