Chad Norman's 16th book of poems, Learning To Settle Down, revisits his exploration of the shorter poem form, only this time he seems to be much more confident to follow a Muse, Awe, which taught him how to leave what she provided alone, not to doubt that what needed to be said, written, and captured hadn't been accomplished. A confidence, perhaps, that only comes after many years of following such an individual, and at times, trusting in how poems find the page. This is the journey that takes place within the poet despite his outer demands.
Many of the poems were written after Norman became a gardener again, having finally, after many years of renting places, bought a house, with enough property to erect a fence and build raised plots to grow food ("crops of veggies" as he likes to call his yearly yield), a joy he hadn't been able to partake in because of his wanderings across Canada. These poems returned to him not an old self, but someone very renewed, a man finally far away from what first stunted his ability to live a life recognizing Awe, but to know without a doubt how quickly it can come and disappear.
Chad Norman enjoys the friendly pace of the East Coast. His poems have appeared in magazines, anthologies, and newspapers across Canada, as well as literary journals in the United States, England, Scotland, Australia, Japan, Denmark, Israel, and India. In 1992, he won the Gwendolyn MacEwen Memorial Award For Poetry. Norman has given poetry workshops to all levels of educational institutions, and talks on Literacy and celebrating Canadian Poetry, during his 1997 cross—Canada reading tour, Live The Reading Life, sponsored by Via Rail, Keg Steakhouse, Greyhound Bus Lines, as well as many more sponsors from each province. Norman has organized The All is Well Mixture, an event held on occasion over the years in Truro and Vancouver, to showcase national and local authors and musicians. He also founded Grant Block Press, a new publishing venture created to bring out books without government funding. His most recent book, Masstown, was released in the fall of 2013 from Black Moss Press in Windsor, ON. He is working on a new collection called Simona, in order to celebrate the Truro, NS, SPCA and the special furry friend they allowed his family to take home. He is also a member of the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia, and a full member of The League of Canadian Poets. He organizes and hosts RiverWords: Poetry & Music festival, held in Truro, NS, each year in July.
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