Author Notes: Stephen Brockwell

Stephen Brockwell: poet, dog enthusiast, violence magnet.Recent Puritan contributor Stephen Brockwell discusses his poem “Standard Poodle”from Issue XXI: Spring 2013. Make sure to read “Brown Mackerel Tabby,” too.“Standard Poodle” is, I am sorry to say, an entirely true story. My dog Niko, a five year old golden doodle, was neutered by the best veterinarian at the age vets recommend: after puberty but before maturity, late enough to have testosterone work its magic on his frame but before his temperament was permanently set on an aggressive path.  In any case, when Niko was a neutered late adolescent, he had an altercation in a dog park with a well-endowed Doberman. The Doberman repeatedly mounted Niko and Niko vigorously defended himself until the two dogs had to be separated lest blood be shed. Since that day, Niko has absolutely no patience with aggressive un-neutered dogs. There was a week last summer when my dog and I felt ill at ease. Must have been the humidity or a change in stress levels. It was as if the shadow of the violence of neutering Niko—a decision that continues to make me uneasy—and the increasing lack of civility in Ottawa peaked like the crests of two waves to a double amplitude.It was as if I was amplifying an undercurrent of violence by simply being present. I witnessed a bar brawl between two apparently civilized young women at a bar/restaurant in the middle of the day. I witnessed a very distressed man beat a parking meter until his fists bled. And I witnessed an attack by two young white thugs on a helpless black man at the Rideau Centre in Ottawa on Tuesday evening on my way to the Tree Reading Series at the Arts Court. I had never seen such savagery. I like to think that, back in the day, I would have intervened beyond the simple exhortation to stop. But this was an order of violence beyond the intervention of a good-willed Samaritan. I called 911 and, with a crowd of bystanders, slowly encroached upon the thugs until they decided it was time to leave. A number of us waited with the man until he received medical attention. It’s rare for me that a poem so closely recounts events from my own experience.Stephen Brockwell is an Ottawa poet and small business owner. His book Fruitfly Geographic won the Archibald Lampman award. His fifth book of poems, The Complete Surprising Fragments of Improbable Books will soon be published by Mansfield Press.