among men

“I’m not drunk. I’m having a momentary lapse of sobriety.” – Al

In 10 years, Al Purdy and Milton Acorn will become celebrated Canadian poets, but for now, they’re just two broke men drinking whiskey and fighting with a wood-fire stove.

This heartfelt and crude drama makes cussing sound like poetry (and coffee taste like whiskey) as the two men struggle to build an A-frame cottage, while dismantling the narrow notion of 20th century masculinity. On the precipice of greatness, and a hangover, the poets must wrestle with a darkness that fights back to turn everything into something greater than it is.