Mixed Grill

A hamburger is not necessarily the thing one turns to for spiritual sustenance, yet this is where Stuart Ross — an atheist and a vegetarian — has found himself. It is an unusual predilection, one that he has had since he was a teenager. Whenever his writing becomes too heavy, its subject matter too emotional, he will throw in a burger to lighten the mood. It is his own form of literary comfort food. While some look to angels or love or the magic of the moon, Ross prefers his lyrical devices served with ketchup and a slice of pickle.

To get to the meat of this memoir: The poet from Cobourg, Ontario, has reached an age when his life has become defined by those who are missing from it. He has lost his mother, his brother Owen, his father, and most recently, just a raw four months before he sat down at his desk at the end of that long first pandemic year, his oldest sibling, Barry. Among fellow authors, he has lost friends and mentors, those who have helped guide his...