Kelly's Book Log: Little Bit Die by Jason Emde

when you

went and died

you made

dying true

--Jason Emde

It’s already May and poetry month is over, but I wanted to review one last book that is written like a novel in poems, what I call a poemoir, because it was so moving. It’s Little Bit Die, a book of poems about travel and dislocation to a new country but also the grief over losing a close childhood friend. Think: #friendship #suicide #japan #childhoodfriends #sonsandfathers #vernonbc #madeincanada. Jason Emde, originally from B.C. now lives in Japan, and although he and the book travel the world, partly in honour of his lost friend Stan, the poet always returns to his present-day home in Gifu, Japan. The book is made lighter with picturesque scenes of this new life, with his Japanese wife and two young sons. The boys are responsible for the title of the book—mistaking the Beatle song Live and Let Die for Little Bit Die. I read this book in two sittings and already want to read it again. Two words: Gorgeous and heart-wrenching. I have a special place in my heart for books about friendship. #fridayreads