These poems are like the needle of a turn table bringing into consciousness the absurdity of existence and the insidious rot that will slowly or quickly do its work. For the most part it is in playful diction and rhythms that these verbal gems come; oftentimes in highly condensed single lines that offer intellectual delight to those readers willing to mull over them.

  – H. Nigel Thomas, Writer and Retired Professor of Literature

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Whether it be by trick of the tongue or by trick of the mind, Vienney Carpentier’s vivid work, rich in meaning and laced in folly, seems to scream “Come out to play! Come out to play!” A surrealist poet in his own right, the twisted yet concise passages he offers, provide a glimpse into his Boris Vian-like mind, and are best served with red wine.

– Yannick Tessier, Musician, Lyricist, and Poet

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Carpentier’s most recent collection catalogs the ravages of time on humankind and his poetic twists and turns take the readers on a, at times, chaotic tour of contemporary society. “La faim des temps” requires, even rightly, demands careful reflection and consideration from poetry readers.

– Terri Connolly, Cegep and University Literature Teacher and Lecturer

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Vienney Carpentier’s surreal eulogy of decay: ashes lie scattered. Crude amnesia.

– Ilona Martonfi, Poet and Producer / Host of the Yellow Door and Visual Arts Centre Readings

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Vienney Carpentier’s “La faim des temps” is an audacious journey into the grotesque and burlesque belly of the human condition.

– Cristina Grecescu, Translator and Master of Arts in English Literature

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Vienney Carpentier’s collection La faim des temps comprises poems in both French and English. The shorter ones, caustic and despairing, are brutally incisive; the slightly longer ones, meandering through the labyrinth of the poet’s consciousness, offer the reader just as little hope. Time is hungry and preys on man, tandis que l’homme reste sur sa faim. Carpentier conveys this central theme through an artful use of word plays and musical devices (Dindon, dicte ton dicton : “Ne perdez pas la farce devant l’adversaire!”) and by recycling everyday expressions in such a way as to make them meaningful and fresh (Quand le silence est dur d’oreille et qu’il ne veut plus rien entendre). One needn’t share Carpentier’s pessimism in order to appreciate his insights into the human condition, expressed with the same poetic verve as in his earlier books of poetry.

– John Hart Whitt, Professor of English Literature, Champlain – St. Lawrence College