Alzheimer's explored through poetry

A small crowd of clients gathered in the day program room at the Alzheimer Society of Sudbury and Manitoulin March 15 to hear Susan McMaster read from her book of poems, Crossing Arcs: Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me.

McMaster, who is currently the vice-president of the League of Canadian Poets, published the collection of “narrative” style poems in 2010. Following each of her poems are comments from her mother, who has Alzheimer’s.

Through her mother's comments, McMaster said readers “realize this person has Alzheimer’s, but she's not gone. There's something very comforting about that,” she added.

McMaster said prior to publishing the book, she wasn't sure what the response would be. But the response has been strong, she said.

“I discovered it was helpful to people — that's what they said,” she said.
McMaster will be reading more of her work at the Main Branch of the Public Library March 15 at 7 p.m. The community is invited to attend the reading.