Eleven : Eleven by Liz Worth (2008)

Eleven : Eleven
Liz Worth
Trainwreck Press
Gulf Islands, BC, Canada
(c)2008

In the summer of 2018 I found myself in Toronto and, having never been there before, tried to make a mad dash around town taking in as much bookstores and record shops as one can on a family vacation. One of the items I picked up was Amphetamine Heart by Liz Worth. I liked what I read on the flight home (I was returning with about a dozen books from Toronto) and decided to write Ms. Worth who graciously sent me a copy of each of her chapbooks. She's known these days in Toronto as a Tarot card reader but she's probably best known for her Treat Me Like Dirt book which is an oral history of the punk scene in Toronto (and elsewhere) dealing with the years 1977-1981.

The earliest of Ms. Worth's published work was the 2008 Eleven : Eleven which was published by Trainwreck Press. The current website does not list her book but that's likely because the Press rebooted a few years ago. Eleven : Eleven is a 24 page short fiction book of extremely well written prose which might be consider a series of prose poems or just damn good writing. I was reading it today while listening to a mix tape of unknown origin that I inherited along the way. A cassette mix tape, mind you, not exactly punk music but period for the time frame I imagine this book covers. It made the reading experience more relevant, I thought.

I don't suspect that this would be easy to find in the States and could be extremely difficult to find - period - but it clearly shows the talent that was later highlighted in Amphetamine Heart. There are references to Tarot cards and related themes in Eleven : Eleven so it shouldn't surprise one that she went back to her first love when she wrote herself out (if in fact that is what she did)

I highly recommend reading her.