Rooted in everyday communities, the voice of Say It With Me is wry, candid and knowing, offering poems that playfully record the foibles of domestic life. There are curious stories: a parrot flies away but always returns to its master, a school bully becomes their victim’s acupuncture patient in adulthood, and a donor finds new kinship with the woman who receives his cells. All these stories are gems full of twists and turns. “Say it with me” a line taken from the poem ‘Canada’ is a phrase that often precedes a rallying cry, or a brave but controversial factual statement. The tales in this book feel true and honest and its title is a call to unite. This is a collection about the communities in which we live and the interconnectedness of human beings. The likeable speaker of these poems surveys it all with the dry humour and wisdom of an older woman, posing scenarios that we can all recognise as authentic. Ultimately, Vanessa Lampert uses deep and rich storytelling to lay bare truths that are at once funny, moving, and illuminating.
