Description
George Elliott Clarkes newest dramatic poem Trudeau makes an irreverent jubilant portrait of the life and politics of one of Canadas most controversial political heroes Pierre Elliott Trudeau Clarkes poem provides a whimsical and informative look at the balance of world powers in the 1960s and 70s infused with the spirit of the many revolutions taking place throughout the world during these years The poem opens on a hillside in Nanjing China April 1949 in the midst of the countrys civil war Our hero exchanges political stances with Mao and falls for a beautiful young flautist From China the drama moves to Fredericton NB where Trudeau chats with Massachusetts Senator and future American president John F Kennedy who has just received an honorary doctorate from the university The two men cavalierly discuss the perks of political power each on the cusp of leading their countries Then in Havana on the eve of the Bay of Pigs invasion Fidel Castro treats Trudeau to rum and cigars and offers his take on revolutions Cuban and otherwise When the focus moves to the Quiet Revolution and Trudeaus response to this crisis in his leadership Clarke presents a leader at once loved and loathed at home who perseveres through both political and personal upheaval Originally composed as the libretto for a new opera by DD Jackson to be presented at Torontos Harbourfront Festival in April 2007 Trudeau is a political caper an extravagant portrait and a dramatic study of influence power revolution and liberation Clarke injects the life of one of this countrys most intriguing personalities with the exuberance and grimy frankness his readers have come to love and expect According to the author As a teenage poet in the 1970s seven artistintellectualsor poetpoliticoshelped me to conceive my voice They were jazz trumpeter Miles Davis troubadourbard Bob Dylan libertine lyricist Irving Layton guerilla leader and poet Mao Zedong reactionary modernist Ezra Pound Black Power orator Malcolm X and the Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau These idols inspired me to sculpt an individualist poetic scored with implicit social commentary Yes this Gang of Seven is flawed But taken as a whole I find their blunt talk suave styles acerbic independence raunchy macho feisty lyricism singing heroics and scarfandberet chivalry quite well liberating For me no Canadian stood more for liberation than Trudeau that aloof populist rightstrampling democrat and taxandspend millionaire An operatic figure in life 19192000 he now merits dramatic treatment My dramatic poem imagines the politician as player Plato meets Chaplin.