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Always Now: The Collected Poems, Vol. 3 (The Collected Poems of Margaret Avison) © 2005 The Porcupine’s Quill 220 pages This is the final volume of Avison’s collection, although two more individual works followed (Momentary Dark and Listening), one before and one following her death in July, 2007. This final volume contains her most mature [...]

Listening: Last Poems © 2009 McClelland & Stewart 80 pages Reading Avison is meditation. From 1960s Winter Sun right through these last poems, Avison understood the world and conveyed its meaning in a language far more powerful than mere prose. These poems bypass intellect (although there’s plenty to think about) and connect with the soul. [...]

On the Ground: Poems ©2004 Graywolf Press 64 pages Appreciating poetry is akin to fine wine-tasting or jazz collecting. It can seem like a mystery to the uninitiated, but a consuming passion to the lovers. I’ll be honest: my poetry acumen is woefully inadequate, but I still enjoy reading it. There were times in this [...]

100 Best-Loved Poems (Dover Thrift Editions) © 1995 Dover Publications 101 pages No one in their right mind would argue the worth of the poems in this volume. If you’re interested in the verse that has shaped our culture, this is a great place to start. I learned something about myself in reading this book, [...]

A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997 © 1998 Counterpoint 216 pages This past summer I paddled the Missinaibi River from Missinaibi Lake to Mattice. In the evenings around the campfire, I would read a poem or two from this volume. Berry’s a farmer from Kentucky, so it might seem odd that his poems felt [...]

Greek Lyric Poetry: A New Translation © 2005 New York: W. W. Norton & Company 201 pages I stumbled across this gem in Petrolia’s own Family Discount Depot. True to the store’s name, the book was marked down to $3.00. After reading it, I believe it’s worth the full list price. Inside is 1300 years [...]