Shoreline Poems

Shoreline Poems is a skinny book. It contains just twenty-one poems written during the peak of the 2020-2023 COVID-19 pandemic. You can scan through them without breaking a sweat. If you are hesitant about adding a book of poetry to your library, this volume includes some of the author’s ink sketches as a visual garnish. The poems were (mostly) composed during the author’s solitary walks along Ottawa’s Rideau River. They are whimsical and short-inspired by the sight of commonplace things like cabbage butterflies, crows, early morning traffic, bridge pier graffiti and a yellow ladder. These poems attempt to dissect ordinary experiences so that their hidden fragrances and flavours can be sniffed and savoured with a secret nod or smile. Shoreline Poems is Volume 2 of A Winnipeg Boy’s Imaginings, a trilogy that mutated into a quartet.

Barry Padolsky B.Arch M.Sc (urban design) OAA, FRAIC, CAHP, RCA

Author Biography

Barry Padolsky was born in Winnipeg’s North End in 1939. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Manitoba and his Master’s Degree in Urban Design from the University of Edinburgh. Barry lives in Ottawa with his partner Evelyn Stone. He has practised architecture since 1969 and is the author of “A Winnipeg Boy’s Imaginings” Volume 1 (2021). His first known drawing is dated October 27, 1941.