Guernica Editions

In Rivers Applaud Forever, Raymond Filip, the craftsman and musician, showcases his spoken-word texts that perform on a silent page, as well as his "say then play" recitals on stage. This collection features free verse and end rhymes; satire and nature studies; a concrete poem and a proem; a linked sequence of narratives, and a long bird call to the uncaptured. Filip's peace process comes to terms with his birth and disfigurement in a displaced persons camp after World War II; the unspeakable abuses of growing up with domestic violence and a broken home in the riverside slums of Montréal; his adventures as part of the resistance movement that led to Lithuanian independence; the ups and downs of a mixed marriage to a Filipina; his battle with cancer; the journey of faith and global identity; and the joys of defying his age through his first love: sports.

The cheer of a river, a mouth,/ Recurrently says in one glance,/ Or a trance: enchanté./ All my springs are for you.