HERE COME DE JUDGE

Retired Ontario Superior Court Judge, James Clarke, Comes to Canada's Poemtown.

“Here come dee judge”. I always wanted to say that in an appropoetic circumstance. That circumstance came on April 28, 2025, at the Grand Unveiling of nine picnic tables in Cobourg’s Victoria Park, that were etched with poetry. The launch of Picnic On Poetry.

Retired Superior Court of Ontario Judge, former Cobourg Town Councilor, James Clarke, born 1932, travelled from Guelph to see his poetry etched onto a picnic table top. Cobourg Mayor, Lucas Cleveland, showed up, along with the current Town Councilors. A judge, a municipal councilor, and a poet as well? Yes, it’s unlikely, but lo and behold …

My first encounter with James Clarke was after my first book of poetry, Walking On the Greenhouse Roof, was published in 1969. Mr. Clarke, thought it would be a good idea to arrange a poetry reading for me at the Art Gallery of Cobourg, on the second floor of the Cobourg library on Chapel Street. The evening came, I showed up with a friend, and that was it – one audience member. This was my first poetry reading – what an impressive start to my poetic career. Mr. Clarke forgot to publicize my event. I failed to do the same.

We became friends in poetry. The years passed, many of them, then came the moments when Mr Clarke was on a publishing roll, book after book of poetry. His poetry is easily accessible, often with a heavy dose of judicial irony and conundrum. The poetic subversive element remained alive in his spirit. Abbie Hoffman was a dissident spirit in the USA during the late 60s who authored a book with the title, Steal This Book. So many people did just that. Not to be outdone with the audacity game, James Clarke published a book entitled, “How to Bribe a Judge” written by a judge no less.

Judge Clarke’s poetry often refers to his role as a judge, the perplexities, the ironies and all too often, justice that seems insufficient. His poetry is rich with insight into the human condition, and the application of mercy. One example:

CHECKMATE HOUR

For years the judge

scrawled his signature across

page after page of

grief & guile. Now,

as an old man

cold and shuddery, he wonders

if the apple

on his bedroom windowsill,

yellow & wrinkled,

still dreams of orchards,

a lost sun.

So, it was a no brainer to invite Judge Clarke to contribute to the first tranche of the world’s first picnic table anthologies. A few days later, he showed up at my door, bearing a bag o books, all of them containing his poetry. I asked for five or seven poems, he gave me his published library and said, “You chose.”

My brain cells exploded at this blindside. It was so unexpected. It was also an honour to be trusted to curate his table. I did several deep dives into his poetry books – hundreds of poems, hours go by, immersion into insight to select only the best of the best. Dog-earing the pages of good poems. So many.

And there was tragedy; his wife of many years lay on her back and floated over Niagara Falls, just like that. I was 14 when my father did himself in with his own hand, so I was more than receptive to the anguish, the guilts, the emotive vortex that sweeps a soul away in grief. Read Judge Clarke’s poems, and absorb the redemptive power of his poetry, clearly articulated, concise, and to the heart of human justice.

Just to give you an idea of this wonderful task of selecting his poems, here’s the list of publications by this prolific poet:

The Quality of Mercy (JHC Press, 2016)
Winter with Flowers (JHC Press, 2016)
Marginal Notes (Legal Studies Forum UWV, 2016)
Fugitive Light (Legal Studies Forum UWV, 2015)
Old Wine/New Skins (Legal Studies Forum UWV, 2015)
Reluctant Witness (Legal Studies Forum UWV, 2015)
The Juried Heart (Pleasure Boat Studio, 2015)
Designated Dreamer (Legal Studies Forum UWV, 2014)
All the Broken Pieces (Legal Studies Forum UWV, 2013)
The Kid From Simcoe Street (Exile Editions, 2012)
The Juried Heart (Legal Studies Forum UWV, 2012)
Dreamworks: New and Selected Poems (Exile Editions, 2008)
A Mourner's Kaddish (Novalis, 2006)
Forced Passage (Exile Editions, 2005)
How to Bribe a Judge (Exile Editions, 2002)
Flying Home Through the Dark (Exile Editions, 2001)
The Way Everyone Is Inside (Exile Editions, 2000)
The Ancient Pedigree of Plums (Exile Editions, 1999)
The Raggedy Parade (Exile Editions, 1998)
Silver Mercies (Exile Editions, 1997)
L'Arche Journal (Griffin House, 1973)

The JAMES CLARKE poetry table was the first of the Living Canadian Poet series. This series will be curated by Wally Keeler and will be unveiled during National Poetry Month year by year.