Much malarkey has been written about Peter Trower being a tough guy. A maladjusted British-born schoolboy, he became a logger who drank too much during the 1940s, '50s and '60s. The writer in him survived, etc. At heart, Trower remains a shy sentimentalist who depends on Yvonne Klan, his better half, to serve as his day-to-day lifesaver. Recently when Klan was diagnosed with cancer, Trower's own hard-won sanity was threatened. But the couple have since weathered that medical storm. In celebration, Trower has responded with a collection of love poems called A Ship Called Destiny (Ekstasis $14.95). Trower's friends and admirers gathered at Bukowski's cafe in Vancouver in late August to read some of Trower's poignant, personal poems and to mark the poet's 70th birthday. 1-896860-77-X

[BCBW AUTUMN 2000]