But the sun, and the ships, and the fish, and the waves by Conyer Clayton

The poems are written in the narrator’s relationships. Clayton talks of her sisters, mother, best friend and men. She weaves her way through largely aquatic landscapes, water parks, ponds, beast-filled lakes and vast oceans. The core of these poems comes from the insecurities and frustration that come with trauma and its healing journey. Clayton suffers from CPSTD which is complex post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as complex trauma disorder.

The poems are of Clayton’s dreams. She’d even wake up in the middle of the night to jot down these dreams so they wouldn’t become a lost memory. She dedicates this book “For anyone with dark dreams and questioned memories. I believe you.” This is very brave of Clayton to do this. Dreams can be so weird and dark. I commend her on doing this for herself because we can enjoy her thoughts as well in these poems.

This book provides you with the words in which Clayton experienced in her dreams and all you need to do is sit back and let this adventure run wild in your mind. I recommend reading this book outside in a relaxing environment. And definitely recommend re-reading some of the poems twice. Thank you for sharing your dreams.


Conyer Clayton is a writer, musician, editor, and gymnastics coach living on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe land. Her debut collection, We Shed Our Skin Like Dynamite, won an Ottawa Book Award and was a Relit Award finalist. She’s released two albums and many chapbooks-most recently, Towers by VII, of which she is a member, and Sprawl, written with Manahil Bandukwala and shortlisted for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. But the sun, and the ships, and the fish, and the waves is her second full-length collection.

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Feed Dog Book (July 10 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 80 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1772141925
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1772141924

Shawna is a mother and a retired athlete, coach and fitness professional. She currently works in the Beauty Industry with Drunk Elephant. In her spare time, she enjoy watching baseball, reading anything pertaining to sports, fashion, poetry and biographies. She likes to travel to anywhere warm and sunny. Shawna has a BBA from Mount Saint Vincent University and currently lives in Paradise, Newfoundland. New Instagram account @shawna.j.butler

1 thought on “But the sun, and the ships, and the fish, and the waves by Conyer Clayton”

Comments are closed.